Radioactive
by B.Shadyy
Summary: The entire forest seemed to hold its breath as Harry stood calmly and still while Voldemort raised his wand and prepared to kill the boy who had dared to live against all odds. In that moment, while the curse flew from Riddle's mouth, Harry Potter knew the Boy Who Lived would cease to exist.
1. Small Ripples

**Summary**: The entire forest seemed to hold its breath as Harry stood calmly and still while Voldemort raised his wand and prepared to kill the boy who had dared to live against all odds. In that moment, while the curse flew from Riddle's mouth, Harry Potter knew the Boy Who Lived would cease to exist.

**Chapter i.**

Death was nothing like Harry imagined it would be.

He had been surrounded by the ghosts of Hogwarts for years now and have never thought to ask them what exactly death was like, but he was very certain none of them would tell them that when they died, they had been magically transported to a very clean King's Cross Station.

Harry took in his surroundings. There were the normal benches, and phone booths and newsstands that adorned King's Cross but the bustling noise was absent. Harry was completely alone in the grand station.

"I'm surprised to say you're exactly on time, Mr. Potter."

Harry whipped around in confusion to see Severus Snape sitting on a bench that was unoccupied last time Harry had checked.

"Snape?" Harry said in disbelief. The last time he had seen this man, he was slowly bleeding to death and demanding Harry take his final memories- memories that had led Harry to his death. "Aren't you dead?"

"That is Headmaster Snape to you Mr. Potter," Snape responded coolly. He was dressed in all white robes, and when he rose and walked towards Harry, his cloak billowed out behind him, perfect as usual.

"And I believe you can answer that. You were there after all."

Harry opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He had clearly saw Snape die, and if the dead man had appeared before him, then Harry knew he must be dead as well. "I...what is this place? It's obvious it's King's Cross Station, but why am I here? And you?"

Snape stopped a few feet shy of Harry and this close, Harry noticed the usual sneer that took up homage on Snape's face was replaced with a look of sadness. "When I finally...died, I met your mother again. You could say it was almost a pleasant death, if it meant I got to see her again. I owed both her and your father everything, as a simple apology wouldn't be nearly enough. She was my closest friend and I betrayed her. I cost her and her husband their lives and instead of trying to keep her only son safe, I made his life miserable."

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat. "Professor, I-"

Snape shook his head and heaved a great sigh. He spoke with such sadness in his voice, Harry wasn't sure what to think. "I've made so many mistakes in my life. I've followed people blindly and I've let them use me because I was too cowardly to stand up for what I believed in. Anything good I've ever wanted I've had to do in secret, for fear of being exposed. I was worse than a double agent- I was a fool and a coward and it took me to reach my death bed to finally do something right, even if it was only a small thing. I'm no saint Mr. Potter, and when I saw your mother I was sure it was Fate's way of showing me what I had missed out on. I knew wherever peaceful place she was spending eternity, there would be no room for me."

Ever since Harry had viewed Snape's memories in the pensieve, he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about the man before him. He was not perfect, but Harry was finding it harder and harder to still see him as the evil potions master he had once been.

A moment later, Snape continued, the sadness in his voice all but gone. "Mr. Potter, your parents have been keeping a very watchful eye on you these last sixteen years and are very displeased with the actions of several people, myself included. As a result, your mother has been calling in favors from very powerful forces in an effort to right all the wrong that's been done."

Harry was confused. "But my mother is-"

"Dead, yes." Snape finished for him. "Like myself, and your father and so many others." He stroked his chin in a very un-Snape like manner and began pacing back and forth in front of Harry. "However, there is one way..."

"Professor," Harry began. "What exactly are you talking about? How exactly am I to right the wrongs of the wizarding world if I'm dead? I'm not the savior everyone made me out to be, Voldemort killed me as easily as he did everyone else. And I've seen how ghosts slowly go mad when they stick around too long after their time. I don't want that."

Snape paused and looked at him. "Now Mr. Potter, that is the question. Are _you_ dead, or is the part of you that is Voldemort dead? Think about the memory I showed you; what happened on Halloween all those years ago?"

Harry thought hard about the details of the memories Snape gave him before dying. He remembered Dumbledore explaining briefly the reason Harry could speak Parseltongue and see into Voldemort's mind.

"The night he killed my parents," Harry said softly. "the curse backfired and his soul was ripped from his body and...and.." Harry swallowed loudly.

"The bit of his soul latched onto you." Snape finished. "There was always a part of you that was home to him. He created a horcrux out of you unintentionally. And tonight, in the forest, your mother's love protected you from his killing curse once more, but it did not protect the part of Voldemort's soul that was trapped inside of you."

"Does he know?" Harry asked worriedly. "Does that mean if he were to try again, he would succeed?"

Snape shrugged slightly. "I would like to say yes, only because even as a mortal Voldemort is still a powerful wizard, and if you managed to kill him first, there's still the issue of his final horcrux if Mr. Longbottom was not able to dispose of it."

There was so much to take in, Harry shook his head and turned around and sank down onto the nearest bench. So many things didn't make sense to him. He had been hit with a killing curse, _twice_, which in his book meant he shouldn't be standing in a ghostly clean train station, but finally being reunited with all his dead loved ones, and definitely not standing around discussing Voldemort with Severus Snape, the World's Best Actor.

Harry leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead in his palms. "Professor," he spoke, talking to the ground. "If I'm not dead, then why am I here? Is it not possible for me to be hit by a killing curse _without_ having to talk about it afterwards?"

Snape waited a moment before striding over to Harry. If Harry had been paying attention, he would have noticed how Snape's cloak billowed out behind him fiercely. The professor took a seat besides him.

"Harry," He began in a heavy voice. "I think as you grow older you'll find that everything happens for a reason and-"

Harry made an exasperated sound. "Grow older? Grow older! Professor I'm DEAD-"

Snape stood abruptly and whipped around to face Harry, "Ten points for interrupting me, Potter. Now, try again, and this time, be more aware. Look for the signs of the enemy. Ask questions. Don't just accept things as they are because even the most powerful, skilled and influential wizards have at one time been led astray."

Harry had time to give Snape an alarmed look before he felt himself being pulled backwards. His vision was becoming cloudy and the last thing he heard was Snape's muffled voice saying, "Help me remember, please. There will be others..."

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

"BOY!" The tires screeched and the car lurched to a stop. Harry felt himself jerk awake, the seatbelt preventing him from hitting the back of the driver's seat. "Wake up and get out or you'll miss that bloody train and if you think I'm going to stand having you home again after all the trouble those _freaks_ went through to get to you well you're WRONG!"

Harry blinked several times and rubbed his eyes as he took in his circumstances. He felt as if his chest was caving in as he took in the sight of the bustling London street surrounding the entrance to Kings Cross Station.

His eyes went wide. What the-

"Honestly!" Petunia screeched. "Falling asleep in the car now staring off dumbly, get out!"

Harry assumed he must have scrambled out of the car and retrieved his trunk and Hedwig-she was alive!- because no sooner had he slammed the boot of the car had Uncle Vernon sped off. They hadn't even said goodbye; much like the first time.

The first time!

Harry looked around, fighting the waves of panic flooding his brain. He forced himself to push back the flurry of emotions and feelings and thoughts as we made his way onto the platform. He stopped several feet away from Platform 9 ¾ and sank down onto the top of his trunk and forced himself to think about exactly what was happening. He could remember everything clearly; the past six years at Hogwarts, on the run searching for horcruxes, the battle of Hogwarts, walking into the forest.

Dying.

Only, he hadn't died. He had been greeted by Snape, a man who he thought was his enemy, only to discover that things were clearly not always what they seemed. Snape had seemed so different, he carried none of his usual anger or swagger and he was uncharacteristically apologetic although Harry was sure being dead had something to do with that. He told Harry to try again. To be more aware, and to help him remember.

Harry's train of thought was broken when he heard the familiar voice of Molly Weasley as she ushered the redheaded gang through the platform.

_Be aware._ Snape's voice seemed to whisper in his ear. Instead of gravitating towards the Weasley gang as he had the first time around, Harry sat back and tried to make himself invisible as he listened to Molly Weasley rant about the platform being packed with muggles and he could have sworn he heard her ask one of the boys what the platform number was, even though Harry knew she had gone through several times with the older Weasley boys. Once or twice Harry saw her eyes sweep the platform carefully, a small frown on her face, almost as if she was searching for something.

Or someone.

Suddenly, all of Harry's instincts, the ones that Lupin had told him were almost always right, were telling him to wait until the Weasleys were through the barrier before entering himself. So he waited. He watched the large clock hanging above the tunnel entrance and after he decided enough time had passed, Harry made his way through the magical barrier.

The Hogwarts Express was as magnificent now as it was the first time he had seen it. It also reminded him of how incredibly small he was. Had he really been that short when he was eleven? It was astounding. There were students and parents all milling about giving each other goodbye hugs and kisses as rushing to board the train due to leave in a few minutes. Harry drug this trunk over to the train and tried to make himself look as invisible as possible.

"Need a hand there?" a friendly voice said. Harry looked up to see Cedric Diggory standing before him, a smile on his face as he regarded the young boy.

Cedric. Alive.

Harry barely managed to nod his head as the older boy hoisted his trunk up with ease and guided him through the crowded train looking for a compartment. Upon finding a suitable space, Cedric deposited his trunk and extended his hand towards Harry, who was still at a loss of words as he looked on in amazement at his friend, alive and _happy_.

"I'm Cedric Diggory by the way. Fourth year Hufflepuff."

Harry gripped his hand. "I'm-"

"Oi Cedric!" "Let's find a spot!" "Your mum wants to say goodbye!" Cedric smiled and acknowledged his friends before turning to Harry again. "Pleasure meeting you!" he said pleasantly and turned and raced off after his friends. Harry nodded towards his retreating back before closing the compartment door shut and sinking down onto one of the cushioned seats. Not long after the train had begun moving and Harry got up and cautiously stuck his head out of the door. Down the hall he could see two identical flaming redheads disappearing inside another compartment. Harry let out a sigh of relief and returned to his seat. At least this time around he hadn't heard whispers of "Harry Potter's on the train!"

And he still wanted to avoid the Weasley's for some reason.

Harry thought back to Snape's words. He went to his trunk and threw the lid open, kneeling down in front of it as he pulled out his wand. He wondered if he was back at first level magic and experimentally pointed his wand at his trunk and murmured a summoning charm for a roll of parchment. To his surprise, one wiggled it's way through the robes and other items and found it's way into Harry's palm. He was about to experiment with a nonverbal spell when the compartment door slid open.

"Excuse me, have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost his pet."

Harry's head snapped up to see an eleven year old Hermione Granger standing in the doorway. At the sight of her, Harry was faced with a barrage of memories; Hermione hiding under the sink as the troll attacked her, brewing polyjuice potion and turning into a half-cat, traveling back in time and saving Sirius, helping him with the tournament, convincing him to start the DA, the Slug Club, the Hallows and the Forest of Dean...

And before he could stop himself he blurted out, "Hermione! Do you remember me?"

Her initial look of confusion was priceless as she appeared to be at a loss of words momentarily. "How do you know my name?" She looked down at the boy kneeling in front of his trunk with his wand held aloft, a surprisingly familiar wand, and she felt his green eyes pouring into hers. She was transfixed. "What are you talking about?"

_There will be others._

Snape's voice seemed to echo throughout the compartment.

Hermione's eyes widened in horror. "Harry!" She rushed forward, the door slamming behind her, and Harry was on his feet in time to catch her as she pulled him into a tight embrace. "Oh Harry! You're alive! I can't believe this. Harry James Potter what did you do!"

The two broke away and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "You remember?"

Hermione made an exasperated sound. "Of course I remember now! You had disappeared but then Neville came back into the castle and he was very worried. He said that you had told him to kill Nagini and I just knew, something wasn't right! I had a feeling you would do something stupid like walk right into Voldemort's arms and I had to stop you. Luna and Ginny and Ron followed me and Neville into the forest but by the time we had got there-" at this point Hermione was half sobbing and choking on her words. Harry put his arm around her and guided her to the seats. She continued to shake in his arms but after a moment she composed herself and continued. "By the time we reached the forest, you were already dead and Voldemort and his horrible Death Eaters were torturing your body and it was awful! I didn't even think I just started firing curses but he swiped them all away like they were flies! It was like the Department of Mysteries all over again. We were there, all prepared to fight as they mocked us and started closing in on us." Hermione stopped and wiped the tears away from her eyes with the corner of her sleeve.

"It's ok Hermione, you don't have to say anymore." Harry mumbled. He intended to pull her closer but Hermione pushed him away and began pacing the compartment. Harry dropped his arm.

"That's not the worst part, Harry." she took a shaky breath and went to stand by the window. She didn't look at him, but at some point in the sky far away. "We were there, ready to die fighting, and then Ron... Ron lowered his wand and stepped over your body and marched right up to Voldemort and knelt at the bastard's feet! He was our friend! And he betrayed us. He betrayed me. I thought we had something...but he didn't even give us a backwards glance. Ginny tried to stop him, but Luna held her back. And then Voldemort gave the order. '_Destroy them. No survivors_.' It was surprisingly quick. I'm pretty sure it was Bellatrix's curse that hit me. And then there was nothing. Just white space."

Harry sat there stunned as he took in his friend's words. He didn't want to believe that Ron would turn on them so easily, but he remembered how jealous Ron had always been of him. How he ranted at Harry during the Triwizard Tournament and was almost always rude to Hermione. How he just walked out on them during the hunt for Horcruxes, only to show up weeks later like everything was alright. What was worse was that Harry just let him. He felt disgusted with himself.

"I should have seen this coming," Harry responded. "I'm so sorry, Hermione."

Hermione turned to face him, her cheeks were still wet from her shed tears. "It's alright, Harry. It seems like somehow we've been given another chance to experience this life."

Harry shook his head. "Not just experience, but change it." And he proceeded to tell Hermione everything that happened when he met Snape at King's Cross. Afterwards, Hermione, returning to her usual self was already forming a plan.

"Hand me that parchment, Harry." she said as she moved to take a seat next to him again. She began writing. "Here's the thing, Harry, lot's of bad things have happened to people who meddle in time. Fortunately for us, we were sent back here for that specific reason. We need to change a lot of things and we need to do it drastically. While it's true that ripples in a pond can eventually lead to a bigger change, there's no denying that tossing a large rock will have the same effect. We'll start with the things that happened in first year. Um...six years ago?"

Harry gave a light laugh and for the rest of the trip they put their heads together and listed all the major events of their former time at Hogwarts while Hermione wrote them all down. The first being their first sorting (which they were about to attend again) and ending with Harry going into the Forbidden Forest to meet Voldemort.

They had just finished their timeline when the train lurched to a stop.

"Who do you suppose the others are?" Hermione asked. They were in the process of exiting the train when Hermione had posed the question. Harry continued walking, following the queue of students with Hermione right by his side, and looked around him. His first mind was to say the ministry six; Ginny, Neville, Ron, Hermione obviously, and Luna. They had played a significant part in both the fight in the Department of Mysteries and also in the battle of Hogwarts. The downside was that Ron was a part of that group. He wasn't sure how he could work it to his advantage to have Ron with all his previous life's memories. Harry looked up when he heard Hagrid's call for first years and further down the platform saw Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle pushing other students out the way.

"Maybe we should just try and get people alone and see if they'll remember like you." He shook his head. "It could be anyone."

…...

Harry and Hermione hung back a little while they waited for the boats to fill up. Almost at the last minute they invited Neville to share the last boat with them. A look of gratitude flashed across his features as he clumsily took a seat next to Hermione.

"Thanks for letting me share with you all," Neville almost mumbled. Harry hated to see Neville this way, especially when he remembered him as the extremely brave and capable wizard that fought besides him in the Department of Mysteries and again with the others when Harry lay dead in the forest. "I'm Neville Longbottom."

"Hermione Granger." Hermione said friendly and held out her hand for him to shake. "I think we'll be great friends. Us first years have to stick together."

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry said extending his hand as well. "Our parents were friends when they were at Hogwarts. I think we'll get along just as well."

"I'd like that," Neville stammered. He looked around and then back at Harry before blurting out, "Everyone thinks of you as a celebrity, Harry. And it's true you have the scar?"

Harry nodded and flipped his bangs back to show Neville. "I don't know why I'm so famous," Harry retorted. "I have this scar to remind me that my parents are dead. But I know why and how they died so I'm going to do everything I can to make them proud and make sure they didn't die in vain."

Neville was silent for a moment. "I wish I could be a brave as you, Harry."

Hermione patted his hand comfortingly. "Don't ever doubt yourself, Neville. You're showing great courage just by being here. I'm very positive you'll grow into a very strong and capable wizard."

Neville still looked unconvinced and Harry wondered if Neville would remember anything from before. He turned his gaze towards the Hogwarts, one of the only places he knew as home. He felt a pang as he remembered the beautiful castle in near ruins.

Hermione seemed to be reading his mind. "It's alright, Harry. This time we have to change things and make it right."

Harry could only nod his head in agreement as he was still captivated by the lights of Hogwarts.

This time around, Hermione hadn't volunteered any information about the Hogwarts. She kept quiet as they were led into the entrance hall and introduced to Professor McGonagall. She gave them the same speech about the houses and house unity and the point system, which now that Harry thought about it, was seriously flawed, and then she disappeared giving them time to fix their appearances and make themselves presentable for the sorting ceremony.

While the other first years made nervous talk with each other, Harry murmured to Hermione, "I wonder why Neville didn't just like you did."

Hermione thought for a moment. "Well, you sort of forced me to remember. You showed prior familiarity with me which in a way shocked me into seeing the same things you were remembering; the DA club, the forest of Dean, the Triwizard Tournament...all of it. It was almost like Occlumency." She frowned as she thought about it.

"I was never very good at Occlumency, Hermione." Harry said.

"Well, you said that Snape warned you that there would be others and to also help him remember, right?" Harry nodded. "Ok, well, Snape is an accomplished Legilimens and you weren't so bad towards the end. He probably realized that would be the only effective way to remember something that our brains are hardwired to not accept. Everyone knows, Harry, that bad things happen to wizards who meddle in time. So naturally, one's first thought isn't that they've been transported back in time. One could possibly experience very strong deja vu but that's really it."

"Unless someone gives them a nudge in the right direction." Harry finished for her. He smiled at her. "You know, you really are the brightest witch of your age."

Hermione blushed and looked away.

"So," a loud voice spoke out in the crowd of first years. "All summer my father has been telling me about how the famous Harry Potter would be joining us at Hogwarts this year." If it was possible, Harry thought Malfoy's voice was ten times more annoying before he hit puberty. "I think I'd like to meet the Boy Who Lived. It'd be very beneficial to him to get to know the better side of the wizarding world."

Excited conversations broke out around them and Hermione turned to Harry. "Just ignore him, Harry."

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry said loudly. A hush fell over everyone.

"What are you doing?" Hermione hissed.

"About to make a major change and see what happens." Harry responded quickly. "I'll need you to make a distraction." and louder he said, "Who wants to know?"

Draco Malfoy pushed through the the first years blocking his path and approached Harry. Harry stood a little straighter. Draco stopped in front of him and sized him up.

"Hm. I don't supposed you'll tell us your secret, Potter?" He sneered.

Harry regarded him impassively. "What secret are you referring to?"

Malfoy scoffed and although he was slightly shorter than Harry, he still managed to look down his nose at him. "How a mere baby could defeat one the darkest wizards of all time."

Harry gave him a skeptical look and shoved his hands in his pockets as he rocked back and forth on the balls and heels of his feet. "Well, I remember having a particularly foul nappy that evening. I saw an opportunity and took. The 'Dark Lord' was coming at me and I lobbed the thing straight at him." There was a smattering of nervous laughter and Draco looked as if he had a retort on the tip of his tongue. Seeing no other opportunity, Hermione gasped loudly and dramatically. "Look at that toad!"

Everyone turned and Trevor the toad croaked indignantly at the attention. Neville scrambled to gather up his pet. Harry leaned in dangerously close to Draco and in a voice so low no one had a hope to overhear he said, "I think it's you that has the choice to make, Draco." to an outsider, the two boys were having a stare-down, but Harry was trying his hardest to shove all the memories he had of Draco into the shorter boy's mind. He recalled his father removing his death eater mask in the Department of Mysteries, Katie being tortured under the effects of his poisonous necklace, the night on the astronomy tower where he could only bring himself to disarm Dumbledore, and finally Crabbe's large form falling into the unrelenting fiendfyre. It seemed as if time stood still as Harry watched Draco's eyes widen in shock and fear. Before Harry could say anything else, McGonagall had made her reappearance and instructed them to follow her into the Great Hall. Draco glared at Harry and Hermione as he made to follow the other first years, taking care to shoulder check Harry on his way past.

"What happened?" Hermione whispered anxiously as they followed a few people behind him. "And why him?"

Harry could understand her worrying; Draco had proved to be as bad as Ron in their past life. But Snape's words continued to ring in his head. "Things have to be different. I know he was a complete arse and the world would probably be better off without him, however, part of me believes that if he were to actually use the brain in his head and make decisions for himself, he could prove a valuable ally."

Hermione chewed her lip nervously and pressed closer to Harry. "But he was a death eater...and his father is despicable!"

Harry's mouth twitched. "Yes, he is. But Snape was also a death eater who was a double agent. I think he would be a great asset to our cause if he chooses to accept that he can do things differently. Plus, it might make it that much easy when it's time for Snape to regain his memories. He's Draco's godfather, after all. "

"And if he doesn't?" Hermione asked seriously. She wasn't afraid to ask the hard questions. They were sent to do damage, true enough, but they also had to tread lightly and they couldn't let anything or one compromise their safety or mission.

Harry didn't get to give her an answer as the sorting had begun.

…...

The first time around, the Sorting Hat had barely touched his head before declaring him a Slytherin.

This time around, there was an uncomfortable silence as the Hat waited for him to come to terms with the new information he was processing.

He, Draco Malfoy, was spoiled, privileged brat who used his father's name and influence to terrorize others. He was also cowardly, selfish, and apparently ungrateful to those who had showed him nothing but unwavering loyalty.

And now?

He had a chance to fix all of that. How many people had regrets in life? How many troubled souls lay awake in bed at night, beating themselves up over all the things they could have done differently in the past? Now, here he was with the express ability to do just that...change everything. But what would be the price?

An alliance with Potter for one. And a slice of humble pie as he asked Granger for forgiveness was a small price to pay if it meant he could atone for the wrongdoing he had done...would do if Potter hadn't used his mind tricks to make him remember. He would have to practice that and soon. It would be another five years until his aunt would begin teaching him occlumency.

_Are you done contemplating the inevitable, Mr. Malfoy?_

Draco was startled at the voice in his head. He didn't know the Sorting Hat could talk.

_Oh yes,_ the Hat replied. _People love talking to me. Sometimes, I enjoy talking back. They always ask the most inane questions..._

_Will you put me in Slytherin again? _Draco asked. He wondered if that was really the place for him. If he really was to make a difference, he figured disassociating himself with the house of evil would be a good start.

_House of cunning and ambition_, the Hat corrected him. _People have defiled the house of Salazar Slytherin, but perhaps it's time to begin changing the popular opinion?_

Draco didn't miss what the Hat was hinting at. _What's your name?_

_My name?_ Draco could feel the Hat's confusion and...amusement?

_People call you the Sorting Hat. I know all about titles, but what is your name?_

The Hat chuckled in his head. _You'll do well in Slytherin..._

_Challenge accepted._

"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat shouted barely a second later. As Draco made to remove the Hat, he heard him speak once more. _Do not make yourself a stranger, Mr. Malfoy. It's been many years since Dante has had good conversation..._

Draco smirked as he carefully placed Dante in McGonagall's hands rather than back on the old stool. The remaining first years parted as he made his way to the Slytherin table. He nodded once to Harry and was pleased with the raven-haired boy smiled and returned the gesture. This would prove to be an interesting year.

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

Harry was not at all surprised to see Hermione waiting for Harry in the common room as he made his way for breakfast the next morning. It took him a moment to recognize what was different about her.

"Your hair is different."

Hermione blushed slightly but smiled. "I have a lot more knowledge on how to deal with unruly hair and decided to put it to use. I feel much more like me. Is that weird?" Her hair, which was normally a big bushy mess their first year, was pushed back with a headband and braided into a thick braid down her back. "I also think it's less distracting."

Harry smiled. He had always loved her hair but wasn't quite sure how to tell her that. "It looks great, Hermione. Really."

He didn't miss the blush that crept across her face again. "Let's get breakfast."

Harry agreed and as they made their way down to the Great Hall, Hermione asked how Harry's night was. "Sharing a room with not one, but two traitors...bloody wonderful." Harry sighed. "What does it say about me and my father that we're each betrayed by people we thought were our friends?"

"It's their loss." Hermione said and gave Harry's hand a comforting squeeze. "But there will be justice this time. I promise."

Harry exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding and continued to grip her hand as they entered the Great Hall for breakfast. The hall was reasonable crowded and the four heads of house busied themselves with distributing class schedules. Before Harry and Hermione could take seats besides Dean and Seamus, they were intercepted by none other than Draco Malfoy. All of the first years had witnessed the tension between the two boys the previous night in the entrance hall, so they waited eagerly to see what would happen next.

Draco surprised them all by speaking to Harry in a voice not laced with malice, but with careful consideration. "I would like to extend an apology for my atrocious behavior last night. My offer of acquaintanceship still stands, however I regret my openly discriminating remarks." The three of them know the last part of his statement had been for Hermione's benefit. She bit the inside of her lip and gave a tiny nod, her eyes continued to search Draco uneasily.

Harry couldn't keep the grin off of his face. He grasped Draco's hand tightly and shook it. "I accept both your apology and offer of acquaintanceship. The two of us will be leaders of very powerful families one day, this could go a long way."

There was an audible gasp as the surrounding students heard the implications Harry had casually tossed out there. It was no secret that the Malfoy's were considered a 'dark' family. Were they death eaters? Unproven. Were they extreme blood purists? Probably. Did they detest anyone without money? Yes. And they also just behaved as if they were above the law. The fact that Lucius had donated an unhealthy amount of gold to the Ministry meant nothing...Right?

The point is, Harry's family was murdered by the Dark Lord and baby Harry was the very reason they lived in peace. It was also no secret that alliances between powerful magical families were not something to take lightly and the fact that Harry Potter, supposed saviour of the wizarding world, and Draco Malfoy, spoiled prince of 'ambiguous' death eaters had just informally allied their houses- houses that they would one day become lords of- was a huge deal.

Draco raised a curious eyebrow at Harry but said nothing to confirm nor deny what Harry had said. He nodded at the two of them and returned to Slytherin table where the other Slytherins were looking at him and awe and confusion. What just happened?

…...

These were precisely the thoughts of the school's headmaster. He had seen the entire exchange and was completely baffled. The last person he'd expect to be shaking the Malfoy boy's hand was Harry. It was no secret the kind of company Malfoy senior kept and he would have assumed Harry would give himself a wide berth. Also, he thought it strange the way he clung to the Granger girl. Molly wouldn't be too thrilled. The lack of a Weasley hanging around him would also have the red-headed terror ripping him a new one. For reasons unknown she had it in her mind that Harry would fall for her precious little Ginny. Not that Ginny would be an unattractive witch when she grew up, he just thought it rather juvenile for Molly to have such high expectations when Harry probably wouldn't even live that long. However, he needed the resources only Molly could provide- a welcoming place that seemed infinitely better than Privet Drive. The Weasley's were much poorer than Harry's uncle and aunt, but they were rich in love and home comforts, which is what Dumbledore expected the young boy to crave most of all. He just had to add a little incentive to get Molly to cooperate.

But even though the youngest Weasley male and Harry were bunkmates, they didn't seem to speak more than two words to each at dinner and they didn't even sit near each other for the welcoming speech. Instead, his precious weapon was hanging about with a muggle-born witch and the Slytherin.

What indeed had happened?

…...

All morning Harry had thwart Ron's attempts to get closer to him. Hermione always stayed at Harry's side, which was a given, so he had found creative- and desperate- ways to fill in the gap on the other side of him. In History of magic he had chosen a seat in the front of the class next to the window and Hermione had deftly slid into the empty seat next to Harry with a smile before Ron could even take two steps towards him. In Herbology he had quickly asked Neville to be his partner for the year. It was also a bonus that Neville was whiz at the subject. He may not know it yet, but it didn't make it any less true. In Transfiguration, Ron had arrived to class sweaty, late, and out of breath. Harry was sandwiched between Hermione and Neville in the middle of the class.

In their last class of the day, Harry stopped Hermione before they entered the classroom. Their classmates filtered in around them and paid them no mind. "What are you doing?" Hermione asked as she watched Harry remove his glasses and was messing with his head. He had to know by now that that mop of unruly hair would never lay flat.

"Taking preventative measures," Harry answered quickly. "Snape hated me the first time around because I'm the spitting image of my father. I can't really help genetics, but I can lessen the affect it has on him. If I look less like the man he hates and more like the woman he loves, we might get off to a better start. He told me to help him remember."

Hermione pursed her lips for a moment as she considered him, but then raised her hand and carefully swept the hair from his face. "Ok."

They headed into the dimly lit classroom and took seats in the last rows. Harry hoped no one could hear his heart hammering inside his chest. It was so important to make a good first impression on Snape...it would either make or break their future plans. This had to go smooth, any alternative was too awful to consider.

The man in question breezed into the room from his office, a small adjoining room off to the side. His face was set in his trademark scowl and his cloak action was perfect as ever. The nervous chatter ceased immediately and he stood in front of the class with his dark eyes boring into each of the first years with such intensity it was like he was reading their minds.

Which, skilled man he was, he was probably doing.

"Welcome to your first Potions lesson." he said through gritted teeth. "There will be no lacking, slacking, or giving me anything less than your absolute best work. There will be no foolish wand waving, no nonsense and if you think for a second this class is a joke, we shall see who has the last laugh when your calming potion relaxes your body so much it begins to shut down causing imminent death."

You could hear a pin drop. _He always did have a flair for the dramatics, _Harry thought wryly.

This time around Snape didn't call Harry out because Harry gave the master his undivided attention. Hermione didn't raise her hand a single time although Ron lost Gryffindor five points because he was "chewing his gum like a deranged cow". Needless to say, none of the Gryffindors were very pleased with the youngest Weasley when Snape finally dismissed their lesson.

While the other students clamored to leave the dungeons as quick as possible, Harry approached the front of the room leaving a bewildered Hermione to be swept out with the rest of the class. "Master Snape?"

Snape, who was using his wand to erase the chalkboard, turned around quickly. Upon seeing the student he sneered ever so slightly. "Potter."

Harry took a deep breath. While he knew how much of an asset this man would be, he still couldn't get over the fact that in those first years at Hogwarts the first time around, he took his double agent job a little _too_ seriously. "My aunt told me you and my mum were friends growing up. When I got my Hogwarts letter, she mentioned that you were a professor here and I...I'm really pleased to have the chance to be taught by one of my mum's closest friends."

He averted his eyes, hoping he looked more embarrassed than guilty. Petunia had never said any of those things. But Snape didn't need to know that. The last thing he needed was for the man digging around in his mind and discovering that he was being manipulated by an eleven year old...a seventeen year old eleven year old?

As Harry's eyes were downcast, he didn't see the faint look of life pass over the man's dark eyes. No one had mentioned Lily Evans to him in years...

"I did a little research and I think it's really cool that you're the youngest Potions master ever." Harry didn't have to lie about that. It was quite amazing that Snape had attained a mastery in Potions just barely out of Hogwarts. "I know my mum really liked Potions too, hopefully some of her skill will have rubbed off on me. If not, then it's really great that you're here."

Harry chanced a look at the professor and wasn't disappointed. It seems like he was getting through to the man after all. Snape cleared his throat. "Very well...Harry."

Harry extended a hand to the professor and was pleased when he accepted. With that he turned to leave. Before he reached the door Snape spoke. "I'm glad you've decided to make the necessary changes. I'm sorry things ended the way they did."

Harry turned and put his game face on as he thought of Ron and dead-Sirius and dead-Lupin and even dead-Snape. "I am too. But I must say, I hope you'll be a lot more pleasant this time around. I know you're a double- double-...ah, triple agent? But maybe you can find a way to not treat the other houses like crap so much?"

Snape gave Harry a wicked grin, definitely worthy of the head of the house of the cunning. "I make no promises."

…...

Hermione had been nervously chatting with Neville at lunch and avoiding the scowling face of Ron Weasley as she waited for him to enter the Great Hall. She couldn't remember feeling this anxious before and it even though the mimbulous mimbletonia was a _fabulous_ plant, she could barely pay attention to Neville.

And that in itself was a clincher. She was certain Neville should be able to remember the events that transpired because he was so vital to them. He had told them it was his plan to kill the snake and he had been the first person to stand up to Voldemort when the dark lord had brought Harry's dead body back from the Forbidden Forest. He had some much potential and was going to be such an amazing wizard so why on Earth was he still in the dark about everything?

Before she could ponder anymore, Harry made his appearance and she fought the urge to run and grab him. It would seem a little weird and clingy especially since they were just friends. Right?

She waited patiently for him to sit and even allowed him to fill his plate up with lunch before casually dropping the bombs on him. "What have you been up to Harry?" she tried to ask innocently but was sure she had failed. Neville scooted down a few seats to join in the animated conversation with Dean and Seamus and left Harry and Hermione with a small semblance of privacy.

"Helping Snape get his memories back." he took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "You know, my vision isn't that horrible without glasses. Muggles would call me farsighted. I can see things perfectly fine when they're right in front of me."

"My parents are dentists, Harry, and we all have 20/20 vision. I actually don't know what you're talking about."

Harry shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The point is, we've got Snape and Draco, two former enemies are now close allies."

"And a former best friend?" Hermione asked carefully glancing in Ron's direction.

Harry scowled. "I hate that I have to share a room with him. I know he's eleven now and doesn't remember what he does, but now I can't help but think back to all those time when he would get so jealous and and let his temper get way out of hand. I should have known better."

"You can't blame yourself for his actions, Harry." Hermione reminded him, ever the voice of reason. "He made his choice and I'm not quite sure he would choose differently this time around. It's time for us to cut our losses and make our own choices."

Harry agreed and with a glance towards the clock, he scarfed down the remainder of his lunch and he and Hermione hurried off to their next class. In the corridor, they were approached by Draco. There was no Crabbe or Goyle flanking him; the Slytherin headed to class on his own.

"Hermione, I found this book in my trunk and thought you might enjoy it." He handed her a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula and she accepted it with a surprised thank you. He nodded once to Harry and continued on his way.

"That was very nice of him," Harry commented. "I haven't read that one, but I've seen the movie."

Hermione opened the front cover and smirked. "This is more than a token of kindness. He's wrote a note here. He wants us to meet at the astronomy tower tonight at midnight."

Harry nodded. They would be there. "Clever. Do you think you could charm us some coins like you did for the D.A. during fifth year? If this is his way of sending messages, people will start to think he has a crush on you."

Hermione scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Likely." The two of them laughed at it on their way to class. Draco might be on friendly terms with them now, but there was still no way Hermione could ever date someone with such blonde hair.

…...

Harry's watched beeped twice. It wasn't loud enough to be heard over Ron's monstrous snores so there was no fear in waking up his dorm mates. It was eleven forty five and he and Hermione were preparing to sneak out of the common room to meet him. As Harry tried to rise from his bed as quietly as he could, he became aware that he was not the only one awake in his dorm.

"Neville?" Harry asked, reaching for his glasses. "What are you doing up?"

"You think I could sleep with that traitor in the room?" Neville responded so quietly Harry had trouble believing what he heard.

"I'm sorry...what?"

Neville held up a spherical object and in the light of the moon, Harry saw the cloudy mist swirling around in the ball. Of course...

"I remember." Neville said harshly. "Everything. Including-"

Sensing this was going into dangerous territory, Harry quickly shook his head. "Let's take a walk and talk about your bad dream, Nev."

He didn't want to risk Neville exposing one rat to the other. Ron wouldn't be able to remember a thing, but Peter Pettigrew was still camping out in their room and that was one problem they couldn't deal with at the moment. They couldn't risk him getting suspicious because they didn't even have a plan to out him yet. Neville stood stiffly and walked out of the door. Harry realized at once he wasn't dealing with pudgy, awkward first-fourth year Neville, but rather confident, powerful, yet still trapped in an eleven year old's body Neville.

Harry hastily slid his feet in his shoes and grabbed his wand, following his friend out the door. In the common room, Hermione was already waiting.

"Neville-?"

She was cut off as the boy hugged her fiercely. After a moment she returned his embrace. Harry didn't interrupt. He had already been 'killed' when the others ran into the forest. With the exception of Ginny and Luna, Hermione was one of the people Neville has spent his last moments with. When they broke apart, both of them had wetter eyes. "What are we going to do?" Neville whispered hoarsely. "We're bloody first years again! That's not what usually happens after people are bloody murdered...is it?"

Harry quickly shook his head. "Definitely not. Listen mate, we're late for a meeting. We'll explain everything there."

Neville waited until they had deftly made their way out of the portrait hole before whispering to Hermione. "Who are we meeting?"

Hermione smirked, not exactly sure how to explain to Neville that the former bane of his existence also had recovered memories and was therefore willing to work with them and turn over a new leaf. She decided to let Neville see for himself.

Harry felt much more exposed navigating the castle without his invisibility cloak. He hated that he would have to wait until Christmas to receive the gift from Dumbledore. However, because of many years of experience, they made it to the Astronomy tower a moment before midnight. Draco was already there, looking over the parapet and into the darkness below. He still didn't know, but in that same spot in six years, providing they keep the timeline untouched, he would become the owner of the Elder Wand.

"Malfoy!?" Only the fact that Neville would normally be totally incapable of removing and brandishing his wand so quickly clued Draco into the fact that Neville had too remembered.

He sighed resignedly. "I suppose I owe you an apology as well?"

Neville lowered his eyes but didn't take his eyes off of the blonde boy. "Save it. I trust the fact that Harry or Hermione haven't cursed you yet. You must be from the other timeline as well?"

Draco nodded. "Did Harry use his freak mind skills on you?" he asked jokingly, but partly serious.

"My grandmother sent me a remembrall."

"If it makes you feel better, I promise not to try and steal it."

Hermione couldn't take the awkwardness and cleared her throat. "So, obviously there's a lot we need to talk about. I'm sure you've both figured that we're going to be doing things a lot more different this time around. On the train ride in Harry and I compiled a list of all the significant things that occurred between first year and Harry going into the forest."

"Our main focus, is getting rid of the horcruxes." Harry said in a quiet voice.

"Horcruxes?" Draco and Neville both said surprised. Their eyebrows shot up into their hairlines.

Harry nodded gravely. "Yes. That's why we didn't return to Hogwarts seventh year. That and the fact I was being hunted by Voldemort."

"How many are there?" Draco asked.

"The cup, the locket," Hermione listed as Harry held up fingers. "The diadem, the ring, the diary. I'm not sure if the snake is one yet, and the one inside of me was destroyed in the forest. And then Voldemort himself."

"And what exactly are horcruxes?" Neville asked. If it had to do with Voldemort he was sure we wouldn't like the answer.

"Basically, Voldemort was so obsessed with not dying that he split his soul into different parts so that even if someone did hit him with a fatal curse, he would still have his anchors. That's how he was able to return during fourth year."

"Bloody hell!" Neville exclaimed. "And he made more than one?"

Hermione nodded. "But the fortunate thing is that we know where they are this time around. It won't take seven years to figure out what all the fuss is about." She turned her attention to Draco. "One of them is hidden in your house. It's a diary that your father slips into Ginny Weasley's books next year while we're at Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing. Because of his carelessness, she becomes possessed by Voldemort and unleashes the giant basilisk that petrifies students."

Draco was never allowed in his father's study, where he was sure the diary they were talking about was hidden. His father was a known collector of dark objects and this sort of action was definitely not below him. "While we're on Christmas holiday I'll take care of it."

"And the Sorcerer's Stone?" Neville asked.

Harry rolled his eyes in frustration. "In hindsight, that entire thing is a trap to lure Voldemort here. Why the hell Dumbledore is attempting to lure that monster here is beyond me. We've got Snape on our side, we know what the obstacles are, we should just go for it now."

"Snape?" "Obstacles?" Draco and Neville questioned at the same time.

Harry and Hermione shared a look before Hermione spoke. "Why don't we go someplace more private to talk? The walls have ears, you know."

They all agreed and made their way quickly to the Room of Requirement. It transformed into a comfy room with a small love seat and two cozy armchairs around a blazing fireplace. There were steaming cups of cocoa on a small tray besides the fire. When they settled in, Draco and Neville looked at Harry and Hermione expectantly.

"Well, tomorrow is Saturday so we don't have to worry about being up too late," Neville took a sip of cocoa. "Why don't both of you start from the beginning."

"Leave nothing out." Draco added. "Everything is of importance."

By the time the sun had risen, they had plan. It was long, complex and had many facets to it.

But it was a plan nonetheless.

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

_Dear mum and dad,_

_I'm settling into Hogwarts quite nicely. I'm sure you've heard about me being sorted into Slytherin. My godfather was exceptionally pleased to hear this. He sends his regards. I hope you and mum are well. The curriculum here is average, if not below. I was sorely disappointed when none of the professors seemed particularly interested in discussing the Ministry of Magic or anything unrelated to Hogwarts. I understand that as your son I have certain obligations, but as I now spend majority of my time here in the castle, how am I to be informed? I know you're great friends with the minister. Perhaps you can arrange for him to visit us at Hogwarts. Or even better, how about arranging for the first years to travel to London and meet him personally. I know he's busy, but he's not that busy. I'm sure the parents would love his initiative. I look forward to hearing from you._

_Draco._

_Draco,_

_What a splendid idea. I'll be in touch with the other governors. You mother and I are pleased to hear you're settling in so well. We look forward to seeing you at the holidays, although I may see you much sooner. I have no trouble seeing that you and your friends get to visit the Ministry. _

_Your mother sends her love._

….

"Oi! Did you guys hear the news?" Dean and Seamus burst into the common room and all eyes were on them. "We get to take a day off classes and visit the Ministry of Magic!"

"What's so bloody exciting about that?" Fred and George asked in unison. Their father worked at that hellhole and they didn't think it was really worth all of the excitement.

"That fact that it's only for first years." Dean replied smugly. Immediately, the older students began murmuring in protest while the first years started talking excitedly.

"Hey Ron, how great of a prank would it be to set Scabbers off on some old Ministry witch?" Neville shouted across the room to the red-headed boy.

Ron's head snapped up and he saw Harry and Neville slapping a high five. It was almost the middle of October and he could barely call himself friends with the famous Boy Who Lived. They had several conversations, but nothing that could secure him a spot with the group that called themselves friends of Harry Potter, a group that surprisingly included a Slytherin. The first time the blonde boy had joined Harry, Hermione and Neville at breakfast there were audible whispers up and down the table. They all ignored them and continued to eat.

Ron knew the Malfoy's were bad news but it didn't seem as if Harry had learned that yet.

He was surprised with Neville's question to him. He had been planning on leaving Scabbers in the dorm, but he thought it would be funny to see how the older witches would react to seeing the furry little rodent in the ministry. Harry seemed to think it was funny so that cemented his decision.

The rat in question was just upstairs enjoying an afternoon nap. He didn't know anything about a trip to the ministry and was more interested in what kind of tasty snack the Longbottom boy would leave around the room next. It was no wonder he was so pudgy, he was constantly snacking!

…...

"Is the potion ready?" Harry had just entered the Room of Requirement where Hermione, Draco, and Neville were already waiting. The room was had the same love seat and armchairs, except now there was a kitchen area added. There was a long table where Hermione was stirring a smoking cauldron while Neville read aloud instructions to Draco who was busy chopping something up on a table next to Hermione's. There was also a stove, a refrigerator, more counters, a sink and cabinets. Harry set his bag down on one of the counters.

"Nearly." Hermione replied and coughed into the sleeve. Harry could see why; the potion smelled foul.

"How did you manage to read Snape's handwriting? This book is literally nothing but scribbles." Neville asked as he squinted his eyes and held the book closer to his face. "Does that say 'stir' or 'strain'?"

Harry reached for the Half-Blood Prince's potion book and was able to decipher the messy scrawl. "It says 'syrup'."

Neville turned pink and Draco and Hermione snickered. "You need to add in the bit of root Draco just cut, and let it boil down until it turns into a syrup."

Draco added his ingredients to the pot with a sizzle and Hermione lowered the flame a little and stepped back from their handiwork. "We're cutting it really close. We're leaving for the Ministry tomorrow and this will be done around midnight."

Harry set the book down and went over and began unpacking his bag; eggs, flour, salt, butter, chocolate chips...

"That's really close," Harry commented as he began measuring and combining the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. "The dough will usually need to set for a few hours in the icebox, I don't know how much that will change once you add the potion to it."

"It won't effect it all." Draco said peeking over the brim of the cauldron. "Magical potions don't change the consistency of food. The taste might be a tad off, but if the potion is strong enough then it will already be doing it's job even if the person decides to not eat anymore."

"Well that potion came directly from the master himself so I have no doubt it's strong enough." Hermione said knowingly. "Harry, how are you doing that without a recipe? Even my mum always has to follow one."

Harry shrugged as he continued his task. "I baked and cooked for my relatives all the time. Using a recipe slowed me down and they would get a little testy so I figured the quicker I learned without one the better."

"That still pisses me off to no end," Neville said angrily. "What are we going to do about your relatives? They should be punished...or locked up at the very least."

"We could kill them." Draco said quietly. "It could look like an accident."

"That's a horrible idea," Hermione responded and went and flopped down on the couch.

"Let's wait and see what Sirius says about it," Harry suggested. "Hopefully he'll be around sooner than we think and then he can use his position as my godfather to gain custody of me. If I never see the Dursleys after that then I'll be perfectly content."

"Looks pretty syrup-y to me." Neville announced. He used the ladle to scoop up what looked like clear maple syrup from the cauldron.

"Great, add some the bowl," Harry instructed. Upon making contact with the concoction in Harry's mixing bowl the potion sizzled once and did nothing else. Harry mixed it all together and scooped out the gooey mess unto a sheet of cling wrap. He secured it and placed it in the refrigerator.

"Let's clean this up and then head to the library to get the History of Magic essay done." Hermione suggested. By the time we're finished, Harry can finish this and then Neville and plant it in the room." The three boys groaned but they knew it was necessary. Since they were missing a day of class, their professors thought it would be a great idea to assign as much homework as possible. None of them were looking forward to History of Magic- the subject seemed even more boring now that they were taking it the second time around. No matter how hard he tried, Binns just couldn't make Goblin Rebellions interesting!

…...

Snape hadn't seen sunlight in almost two days. When he wasn't teaching a class, he was locked away in his dungeon office going over plans and then emptying his mind continuously in his pensieve. He had trusted the kids to make the potion and administer it, he had placed an order for ingredients to make enough of the lucky potion to last for a few years, and he was also monitoring Quirrell/Voldemort with the Marauder's Map he had taken from Filch's office. Harry had confessed to him that the Weasley twins would steal the map sometime during his first year and as they really couldn't be bothered waiting around until Harry's third year to get it back, Snape had taken action. He was now able to keep a watch on his four students, the Headmaster, and the Dark Lord without leaving his office. Harry was a little bitter that he would have to wait until Christmas to get his father's invisibility cloak from Dumbledore, but he had enough knowledge of the castle to not get caught if he had to sneak out for any reason. They could wait a month and a half.

His desk was an unusual mess. There was a pile of sixth year potions essays he had yet to grade, the map was open haphazardly and his quill was leaking ink. There was also a batch of paperwork from his lawyer that he needed to review. All of this was no matter to him as his mind was occupied with the upcoming task.

He, along with Septima Vector, were going along with the first years to the Ministry of Magic as chaperons. While there, Phase One of their plan would be implemented. And while he had mixed feelings about it all; Sirius Black would _never_ be his favorite person, he hoped everything went smoothly and they would be able to transition to Phase Two quickly.

He hoped Sirius would be on board.

…...

"You know, I underestimated your baking abilities, Potter." Draco said appreciatively. "The cookies look delicious."

"I'll make us some to celebrate when tomorrow's over." Harry smiled proudly. "Without the potion!"

"Too bad Snape isn't an Animagus; we could've practiced on him." Neville placed six cookies in a napkin and wrapped them carefully.

"Maybe we can save them for McGonagall next year," Hermione added thoughtfully. "Every year she starts her Transfiguration lesson off by turning into a cat."

"That, my friend, is a prank worthy of a Marauder!"

Hermione beamed.

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

"...and this is where all of the court proceedings are held." Minister Cornelius Fudge looked at the group of eleven year olds and smiled weakly. This was more boring than he thought it would be. One look at their faces and he could tell they all thought the same thing. He loved his job as Minister, but entertaining little brats wasn't part of the job description. Thankfully some reprieve came in the form of Amelia Bones, Director of Magical Law Enforcement. "Ah Amelia! What a pleasant surprise!"

"I work here."

"I was just showing the children the court rooms and such, perhaps you'd like to intervene and share a story or two? This is, after all, your area of expertise." Fudge had a desperate look in his eyes and Amelia narrowed hers at him. She personally couldn't stand to be in his presence longer than a moment or two. However, upon seeing the eager look on her niece, Susan's, face, she couldn't disagree. "Well I suppose I have a bit of free time...Let's see, well as you know we try a variety of cases here and no two are the same. There was one instance where a man tried to sue his wife for giving him ugly children-"

"What the hell?!"

All present turned to first year Ron Weasley, or rather, the rat-like man that had just ripped from his pocket and appeared frozen in fear. Snape quickly drew his wand and stunned the man and he dropped to the floor. Professor Vector hurriedly pushed the children away, giving the stunned man a wide berth. Ron had a look of pure horror on his face and Neville slapped him, shaking him from his stupor. The red-headed boy rubbed his cheek as he stared at the man that used to be his beloved pet.

"What is the meaning of this?" Amelia demanded. "And why did you stun him?" she directed at Snape.

Snape's wand was still pointing at Pettigrew and his voice was steady. "That rat just transformed into Peter Pettigrew. I attended Hogwarts with him when I was a boy and last I saw his face it was on an obituary. Forgive my pun but, I smell a rat."

"B-but this is preposterous!" Fudge cried indignantly. "Peter was killed by the murderer Sirius Black! This must be folly!" He rounded on Ron. "You, boy! What spells and enchantments did you use on that poor rat?"

Ron was shaking his head quickly back and forth. "I've had him for years! And he was my brother's before he gave him to me. I've never done anything to Scabbers!" There were tears in his eyes and he was shaking uncontrollably. The other students, not understanding the severity of what was happening tried to contain their laughter while Harry, Hermione, Draco and Neville kept a cool composure and watched the scene unfold before them.

Snape rolled his eyes. "Surely. Mr. Weasley you have to have known that the normal lifespan of a common garden rat doesn't exceed more than a few years?" He turned his attention to Amelia. "Madame Bones, as the Minister so eloquently phrased it, this _is_ your area of expertise. In my experience, people don't fake their death for eleven years without justifiable cause. Perhaps you would consider looking into this matter?"

Amelia shot Fudge a death glare and used her wand to produce a tiny, silver beagle. "Jones, Shacklebolt, Shetland, I'm in the third corridor of the department and require a vial of Veritaserum and your assistance. Get word out the front desk that are to hold an immediate trial in the third floor courtrooms. Make the announcements." The beagle split into four copies and races off down the corridor and through solid wall. Amelia made quick work of producing ropes that bound the still stunned Peter.

"Amelia-" Fudge started. Now things were just getting out of hand.

"Minister," Amelia interrupted him and flicked her wand, erecting a silencing wall where the children could not hear them. "As Professor Snape insinuated, there is definitely something not quite right about this man being here. As you and I, and most likely Professors Snape and Vector know, this man was 'murdered' by mass murderer Sirius Black after he accosted him for the deaths of the Potters. Now, I believe former Director Crouch was right in sending the man to Azkaban to rot, however, his did not receive a trial and as I was but an auror at the time, it was not something I could have pushed. However, as fate should have it for whatever reason, we are given the chance to finally question one of the only two people who know what happened that night."

Fudge looked severely uneasy. He twirled his bowler hat anxiously. This had the potential to reopen a lot of old wounds. "You know there were several reasons the man didn't receive a trial...he was caught red-handed! What do we need the rat- I mean Peter for?"

Amelia fought the urge to roll her eyes at the man. "Because, you and I both know that people don't willingly fake their deaths only to live as a bloody rat for eleven years! You can't possibly tell me something's not a bit off about that?" Fudge didn't answer. "Look, we have a prime chance here to get some answers to things that have been swept under the rug for too long. We'll send an auror guard to retrieve Black, put him on trial, question the rat, and then no one can say the ministry cuts corners."

Seeing no way out of this, Fudge finally nodded. He glanced over at the anxious looking students. "What about the Potter boy? He's only eleven, it could be damaging for him to find out about his parent's betrayer."

Amelia agreed with him on that point but she had also learned a long time ago that getting emotionally attached did no good in her line of work. "I see your point, minister. However, it's either learn the truth now in a controlled environment and gain the closure he undoubtedly needs, or somewhere down the line when there's no one to explain things to him."

"Very well."

Amelia summoned another silverly beagle. "Auror Guard 6 portkey immediately to Azkaban and retrieve prisoner Sirius Black. Courtroom 3 upon your immediate arrival." As the beagle trotted off, she released the silencing charm and addressed the anxiously waiting students and professors. "In light of recent events," she pointedly stared at the still form of Peter. "Minister Fudge has called for an emergency trial in front of the entire Wizengamot. We're going to question an extremely dangerous criminal under truth serum, and then we're going to get some answers from our friend here."

Fudge paled visibly. He agreed to question the man, but a full on trial? In front of the entire Wizengamot? At that moment, invisible loud speakers echoed all over the entire Ministry of Magic. _"Attention all patrons, there will be an emergency trial held in Courtroom 3 of the Department of Mysteries. All active members of the Wizengamot please report for duty immediately. Non-active members of the Wizengamot please be reminded that the maximum occupancy for Courtroom 3 is one hundred and thirty three. For further details, please contact the Department head in which you are employed. Thank you."_

"We get to go to court?" Dean Thomas blurted out.

"That is so cool!" Terry Boot chimed in.

"Susan your aunt is awesome!"

"Minister Fudge you're the best!"

"Where's Courtroom 3?"

"What's an emergency trial?"

"Did somebody die?"

"Are we going to jail?"

Fudge turned pink under the praise of the students. "Professors, please escort your students to the courtroom. I suppose you all want front row seats?"

Everyone cheered loudly and began following Professor Vector down the corridor. Harry, Hermione, Neville and Draco trailed behind them with Professor Snape a few feet behind them.

"You do realize, Potter, that if both Black and Pettigrew are trialed under truth serum, I could be incriminated as well? I didn't get this tattoo on my arm for my health."

"Then you'll be called to trial as well, professor." Harry replied easily. "You'll be subjected to truth serum and you'll tell the truth about how you made a mistake and are paying for it everyday."

"I could lose my mastery." Snape said quietly.

"But you'll still have your talent," Draco responded cheekily. "And then you'll have more free time to help us get rid of the Dark Lord."

Hermione stopped walking and turned to face the man she once feared. "We'll stand behind you, professor. And we'll vouch for you. We won't fail this time."

Harry grabbed her sleeve and gently pulled her along so they wouldn't fall too far behind. "You didn't fail the first time," Snape said softly.

They were the first ones to enter the courtrooms and Professor Vector herded them all to the front row. Snape went to join her as she stood before them. He silenced the nervous chatter with a look. They were prepared for threats of epic homework proportions from the surly man but the only thing he said was, "Use your better judgment while in this room. Don't be an idiot."

The heavy door banged open and they all turned there attention to watch the members of the Wizengamot, donned in maroon robes, hastily made their way to their seats. On the opposite side, ministry workers and Daily Prophet reporters were hurrying in. There hasn't been an emergency trial called in years!

Harry sat back in his seat, prepared to watch the following events unfold. "So it begins."

…...

"Prisoner 131288914, otherwise known as Sirius Black, your presence is requested for emergency trial at the Ministry of Magic as per requested by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge." the auror rolled up the formal piece of parchment he had been reading from and stood in front of the cage-like cell. Inside, Sirius Black, the man in question, had his back to them as he was busy scratching into the dirty stone walls. The auror rolled his eyes. "Don't even know why they're bothering with his guilty arse."

"Let's get this over with, Mattson." his companion sighed heavily. "The quicker we get him there, the quicker we get him back. I've got things to do tonight."

After completing a series of complicated wand movements, the bars vanished and they stepped carefully into the cell. Sirius gave no indication that he was aware of his visitors. "Let's go, you brute." Auror Mattson hoisted him up with his companion quickly slapped magic- inhibiting manacles on his wrists. Sirius began to protest and tried to return to the wall.

"Oi," Mattson huffed as he gripped the man more firmly. "You'll have plenty of time to finish your little picture when you get back here."

"Yeah don't worry, we'll make sure to tell the dementors to keep it warm in here for you."

At the mention of the foul creatures, Sirius went still and allowed the men to steer him out of the cell. He heard the hissing and murmurings of the other prisoners as he was led down the long corridor. His only reaction occurred when they finally exited the prison. It was an overcast day but he still shielded his eyes from light. It was blinding after being in the dark for so long. One of his guards conjured a dark sheet and tossed it over his head. "We got him," Sirius heard the man to his right say.

There were groans of disappointment. He guessed there were four others. He felt the presence of dementors nearby and the warmth of patronus keeping them at bay. "Was hoping he had keeled over by now."

Another one spoke, presumably to the dementors. "Don't worry, we'll have your boy back before long." Predictably there was no response.

"Get him on the boat."

Sirius felt himself being guided onto a small boat and was made to sit down. "Now don't try and escape, Black. If you try and jump into the water, we will kill you. Obviously, I wouldn't mind ridding the world of murderous, traitorous scum like you, but there would be too much paperwork."

"What we he doing when you got to his cell?"

"Scratching some picture in the wall. Typical crazy behavior."

"If I ever betrayed my best friend to you-know-who I probably would be crazy too."

Sirius ignored their conversation. He had eleven years practice of ignoring the unpleasant screams and moans of the other prisoners. The petty words of a few aurors didn't phase him. He felt the boat speeding away from the island and wondered what he was heading towards? He almost wished he had been left back in his cell.

If the aurors had looked any closer at his scratchings on the wall, they would have seen an extremely detailed engraving of a regal looking stag, a large black dog and a howling werewolf.

…...

Dumbledore was the last to walk into the crowded courtroom. Someone had leaked that Sirius Black and the man he murdered would be receiving a trial and witches and wizards had made it their business to witness the proceedings for themselves. James and Lily Potter had plenty of admirers and well wishers and everyone wanted to see what the man responsible for their demise had to say. Poor Harry Potter would be there to witness it.

He walked with none of his usual air of grandeur, but rather was a rushed purpose. As he hurried to take his seat at the head of the Wizengamot, he looked out and saw the front row filled with his first years. He really wished Professor Vector or Snape would have showed better judgment and not allowed them to see this.

Harry Potter waved at him.

…...

They had decided to question Peter Pettigrew first. Amelia considered him low risk and was more curious about what he had to say.

The rat-like man was led into the courtroom and instructed to sit in the chair raised in the middle of the room. He looked terrified as an auror approached him with the truth serum. Seeing the hundreds of faces surrounded him caused him to nearly go into a panic attack. Amelia definitely felt like something was off now and was eager to get started. He gulped the Veritaserum.

"What is your name, wizard?" she asked briskly, not wasting a minute.

"Peter Pettigrew." he answered automatically.

"Did you fake your death?"

"Yes."

There were murmurings throughout the crowd and several flashes as reporters hastily took notes. Dumbledore banged a gavel twice and the room quieted, allowing Amelia to continue.

"Why did you fake your death?"

"To escape from Sirius Black.

"Why were you escaping from Sirius Black?"

"I framed him for the deaths of Lily and James Potter and he was seeking revenge."

"The HELL?"

"Did he just say-?"

"What about Black?"

"!"

Dumbledore banged his gavel more times and Amelia struggled to keep her composure. She took a deep breath and asked another question, praying for more clarity. Hermione placed a small hand on Harry's knee. He was unbelievably tense as he watched Pettigrew.

Amelia cleared her throat and waited for the last few murmurings to quiet down. "How did you frame Sirius Black?"

"The Potters were on the run from the Dark Lord and used a Fidelis Charm. Black was originally their secret keeper but at the last minute we switched and I became the secret keeper."

"Why did you replace Black as the secret keeper?"

"Many people already assumed Black would be the secret keeper. We did it throw off the Dark Lord's followers."

"And then what happened?"

"I gave the Dark Lord the secret. He killed them."

"BRING IN SIRIUS BLACK!" Amelia ordered. Immediately four aurors entered and Hermione's heart broke at seeing Sirius that way. There was a dark sheet over his head and as soon as one of the aurors removed it, Sirius went mad at the sight of Peter.

"That traitor! Let me at him! You killed James and Lily!" Sirius was all but foaming at the mouth as he tried in vain to get toward the rat. A few of the women in the courtroom actually screamed as the aurors fought against him. Dumbledore banged his gavel once more and Amelia spoke loudly.

"Sirius Black! Control yourself in this courtroom!" She demanded. "We are aware that you have not received a trial for the crimes you were accused of and as such, we are prepared to do so at this moment. Aurors, put him in the chair and give him the Veritaserum."

Sirius stopped struggling immediately. The word "trial" seemed to stir something within him and he allowed the aurors to guide him into the second chair that had been conjured besides Pettigrew. The poor man looked as if he had seen a ghost. Sirius dutifully opened his mouth and three drops of the potion were administered to him.

"What is your name?" Amelia asked.

"Sirius Orion Black."

"Are you a death eater?"

"No."

"Have you ever been a death eater?"

"No."

"Did you betray the Potters to the Dark Lord?"

"No."

"Who was their secret keeper?"

"I was. And then we made the decision to switch to Peter Pettigrew."

"Did you kill those twelve muggles as you accosted Peter Pettigrew?"

"No. Peter did that when he blew up the street while he escaped from me."

"Minister Fudge, do you have any questions for either man on trial?" Amelia asked in a clipped tone. When he replied in the negative Amelia cleared her throat. "Ladies and gentlemen of the court, it appears as if the ministry has made a grave mistake in sending this man, Sirius Black, to Azkaban. He has suffered eleven years in that prison, had his rights taken from him, and his reputation tarnished, all while the true murderer walked free." She looked at Peter, who was openly weeping, with a look of utter disgust on her face. "Peter Pettigrew, based on the evidence you provided under Veritaserum, you are a proven sympathizer of the Dark Lord. You are charged with murder on 12 accounts, faking your death for unjust cause, endangering a minor, invasion of a private home, and being an unregistered animagus. Your Order of Merlin, awarded to you 'posthumous' is retracted, and you will fined as the law demands for all the above mentioned. At the agreement of the gathered Wizengamot, you are sentenced to life in Azkaban with no chance at parole. Any attempts at escaping your earned punishment will have you kiss by the dementors immediately." Amelia now turned her attention to Sirius who watched her guardedly. He had lost their trust a long time ago. "Sirius Black, we cannot give you back lost time. However, due to Articles 67884-86, we are prepared to pay you full compensation, 7,000 galleons per month spent in Azkaban, as well as reinstating all titles and positions held prior to the arrest, and a full inquiry to the aforementioned events which landed you in such a predicament to begin with. Minister Fudge, members of the Wizengamot, have you anything to say or add?"

No one spoke and all Fudge could do was look as if he were going to lose his breakfast. This was bad. This was really bad... The press was going to eat him alive.

"Then it's settled." Amelia said with an air of finality. "Aurors, get rid of the filth. Sirius Black is a free man."

…...

_Sirius Black is a free man._

The Director's words reverberated inside of his skull and he wondered when he would wake up. In the background, he heard the rat wailing and sobbing until finally the aurors subdued him with a stunning spell. None of it mattered.

He was free.

He never had to return to the hellhole again.

He stood up from the chair and looked around the courtroom. A witch wearing official looking robes and carrying several rolls of parchment had somehow made her way to him and although he could hear her talking, he wasn't listening.

Right across the room from him, barely twenty steps, stood a boy who was the spitting image of his father. _Except for the eyes..._

"Harry."

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

Reviews are welcomed.


	2. The Many Phases

Very pleased with all the support so far. As always, reviews are much appreciated.

**Chapter ii.**

"Please sign here. Initial here. And there. There as well. Now this one. And you'll need to sign this is well. This one, too. And four drops of blood to magically seal it."

Sirius was gradually losing patience with the ministry witch. While he was eternally grateful to finally be signing the release papers from Azkaban, the last thing he wanted to be doing was standing there in his rags and signing on a million and one dotted lines.

The Hogwarts' professors had hurriedly rushed the children out of the courtroom- he'd have to ask someone why they were there in the first place- and among them was his godson. He was extremely surprised- a little miffed- to see Snivellus in the courtroom as well. He thought Dumbledore must truly be losing his mind to let that monster instruct students. The lot of them probably had nightmares about his greasy hair. Sirius shuddered thinking about it.

The witch finally collected one final signature from him and rushed away to process them. Sirius all but sprinted out of the doors into the semi-crowded corridor. Almost immediately reporters began shoving towards him and shouting questions at him but he ignored him. He saw the first years being led away and dashed after them.

"I want to see my godson!" he barked at a reporter as he hurried to catch the group. "Harry!" Harry turned around and Sirius felt his heart stop. It was like seeing his best friend all over again. "Harry."

There was a tense moment in the corridor where time seemed to stand still, and then suddenly the raven haired boy was running towards him. Sirius braced himself for the impact of the eleven year old launching himself at him and gripping him in a tight hug.

When he finally released him, Sirius crouched down in front of him and held him at arm's length to get a good look at him. "You know who I am?" he asked him.

Harry nodded. "You're my godfather. I have picture of you with my parents."

"Excellent," Sirius laughed. "I know you hear this all the time, but you look so like your father. Except for the eyes-"

"They're my mother's." Harry finished with a smile. "People tell me all the time."

"They didn't deserve such a horrible ending," Sirius said sadly and there were tears in both of their eyes. Neither of them paid any mind to the reporters busily snapping photos of them. "But now that everyone knows the truth, maybe we can finally begin the healing process."

To his surprise, Harry's eyes went hard as steel and he spoke through grit teeth. "Not until that bastard Riddle is in a grave."

"Potter."

Sirius broke his gaze away from Harry and stood to his feet, placing a hand protectively on his godson's shoulder as he came level with one of the people he loathed the most.

"Is there something you need...professor?" Sirius asked, not bothering to keep the disdain out of his voice.

"Actually yes," Snape replied just as coolly. "We are preparing to leave and Harry is expected to return to school as he came- with his classmates."

Neither of the men saw the boy in question rolling his eyes as they were too busy staring each other down. Harry hoped that it didn't come to blows; they had too much at stake for their childish remarks.

"Yes, professor Snape." Harry replied easily. He turned to Sirius. "I guess I can't skip school to hang out with you?" he joked.

Sirius chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Not quite, pup. But I suppose your professor is correct. You have to get back and I have much to do...new clothes and a bath for starters."

Snape curled his lip and sneered. "Oh that _is_ you? I thought I smelled a wet dog in here..."

"How clever," Sirius bit back. "Did you think of that on your own, Snivellus?"

"You arrogant-"

"Sirius, I'll owl you." Harry interrupted with a clearing of his throat. "I know you'll be really busy finding your place in society again, but you're my godfather. I want to know you."

Sirius relaxed immediately as he gave his full attention to his godson once more. "Of course, Harry. And you're right, there is much for me to do but there is always time for a letter and if your Headmaster is generous, perhaps he'll allow a floo call."

"Excellent." Harry smiled widely and squeezed him tight around the middle in a hug. Snape gave him one final loathing glance and hurried off with Harry following him.

Sirius watched at the first years were ushered onto the lift and soon they were out of sight. Sirius turned to see the new DMLE, Amelia Bones, the minister, Cornelius Fudge, and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Albus Dumbledore emerging from the courtroom and his diverted his attention to them. A familiar dread settled over him accompanied by something he hadn't felt in years...anger.

It was time to get some answers.

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

_Sirius,_

_Let me start by saying I'm so excited that you've got your freedom at last. I'll admit, I believed you guilty at one point but I've since learned better. You're a better man than Pettigrew could ever hope to be. I'm proud of you and proud to be your godson. I've been the perfect student to my professors and they all agreed that I should be allowed rare visits to Hogsmeade so that I can get to know you. Of course Dumbledore caved so I can meet you on this Saturday at noon if you're not too busy? There's a lot we need to discuss. I really look forward to seeing you, Padfoot. _

_Harry._

_Ps. Yes, I know you're also Padfoot. And your secret is safe with me._

Sirius anxiously waited in the Hog's Head, per the boy's request. He wasn't a fan of the grimy and dingy atmosphere and Aberforth was weird to say the least. Nevertheless, he nursed a butterbeer out of a questionably clean glass. He hadn't been waiting long when Harry finally arrived. He rushed to hug his godson and held him at arm's length to get another long, good look at him.

"Hogwarts is treating you well," Sirius said proudly as Harry took a seat across from him.

_Oh the irony,_ Harry thought.

He had met with Hermione, Neville and Draco shortly after breakfast and they decided that telling Sirius about their mission as soon as possible was absolutely necessary.

"So Harry," Sirius began. "I must say, your letter surprised me. Especially that bit at the end." he gave Harry a knowing look.

Harry grinned but it didn't quite reach his eyes. It would be extremely difficult explaining everything to Sirius. "It's pretty complicated, Sirius."

Sirius looked worried. "What is it?"

"I"ll explain everything but first I need you to place a very powerful silencing charm around us."

Sirius looked confused but took out his wand carefully and murmured, "_Silencio_," he put his wand away. "Now what's so serious? Besides me?"

Harry actually let out a laugh at the horrible pun. "Clever. I'm about to reveal some very dangerous information and I want your word that you won't do anything...irrational once I tell you."

Sirius scoffed and chuckled. "Harry, what could possibly-"

"Your word, please?" Harry repeated quietly. Sirius sobered up immediately and regarded the boy carefully. He wasn't prepared for such seriousness from the eleven year old. He nodded his head once.

Harry took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing..._ "I, along with four others are from a different timeline. I was sent back on a mission and I need your help. In the other timeline, you wouldn't have been granted a trial ever. In fact, you broke out of jail during my third year when you saw a picture of the rat with his missing finger in the Daily Prophet."

Sirius's jaw fell open. "What? I'm sorry Harry, what exactly do you mean 'different timeline'? And no one's every broken out of Azkaban."

Harry bit his lip. "You changed into your animagus form because it's harder for the dementors to detect animals. And you were the first to break out of Azkaban, although during my fifth year there was a mass breakout. As for the different timeline, I've experienced all of this before. I was sent back on a mission."

"Lots of bad things happen to wizards who meddle in time," Sirius said seriously. "I've been in prison a fair amount of time, but before that I was an auror and you must understand why this would be quite difficult for me to accept. At least without proof?"

"You're an unregistered animagus." Harry replied. "Remus Lupin is a werewolf and my dad was a stag. You called him Prongs and Remus was Moony. I have your map also."

Sirius leaned forward and crossed his hands. He studied the his godson carefully. "You're slowly gaining the benefit of the doubt, godson."

Harry continued. That was better than what he had hoped for. In the other timeline Sirius was anxious and even a bit moody in his later years. Maybe gaining his freedom and independence- an a hefty settlement from the Ministry- had made him a bit more relaxed. That would be good for the next piece of information Harry was going to reveal. "Well, this may not be entirely pleasant to hear but...during my fifth year, Voldemort manipulated me and as a result- as a result of my stubbornness a good man was killed. A good man who had spent hell in prison and doomed to spend his last days on the run." Harry would probably never forgive himself for that. Even if he could prevent it this time around.

Sirius didn't react but asked calmly. "Who?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange."

Sirius swore and his fist clenched on the table. "I take it she was a part of the breakout during your fifth year?" Harry nodded. "And how does You-Know-Who fit into all of this? And Dumbledore?"

Harry grimaced. He wished Sirius would break that terrible habit most members of wizarding Britain had an call the man by his name. "I had a few run-ins with Voldemort before he officially made his comeback during my fourth year. Dumbledore kept some vital information from me which ultimately resulted in my death. As such, I'm back here to prevent myself and about a hundred others from dying."

Sirius's jaw fell open. He recovered quickly. "DUMBLEDORE DID WHAT?!" Harry was grateful for the silencing charm. "And The Dark Lord returns? Er..returned?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah the past/present tense thing is weird. But yes." He pulled a piece of folded parchment from his pocket and gave it to Sirius. "The same phrase for the map unlocks it."

"I could kill Dumbledore for allowing that bastard to harm you. When I see him-"

"NO!" Harry all but shouted.

"Harry, listen to me-" Sirius started but Harry shook his head violently.

"No." He repeated. "This is to be kept from Dumbledore at any means possible. He'll only get too involved and I really don't have time to play around this time. Sirius, I DIED because of his inaction. I don't want to go through all that again."

"But-"

"You gave your word."

Sirius sputtered. "That I wouldn't act irrational! You're telling me that a man is all but responsible for your death and I shouldn't be upset?"

Harry sighed. "Trust me, you're not the only one who's upset. But...I'm here now. And we've got a plan to fix this but we need your help and with that comes your full agreement to not clue people in on what's happening. Sirius, we are deliberately changing history and that is way bigger than me or Voldemort or even Dumbledore. We're talking about an entire generation. We can't do this without you, but if you take that parchment, then it has to be done our way."

Sirius locked gazes with Harry for a long moment. Harry knew that this was a lot to take in and Sirius had every reason to doubt him but eventually Sirius pulled out his wand and mumbled, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

Ink began spilling over the paper and turned into a list.

"Excellent." Harry smiled a bit. "This makes things so much easier. Now that you're on the team, there's quite a bit you need to know..."

For the next fifteen minutes, Harry explained about the horcruxes, his encounters with Voldemort, the ritual used to create him a new body, Dumbledore's death, the Ministry's shortcomings and life on the run. Sirius's reactions ranged from pride at his guts to ride a Gringotts' dragon, to anger at Ron's betrayal.

"So who else is from the other timeline?" Sirius asked as he went over the list. There was a list of all the horcruxes and their locations and key events that would happen.

"My best friend Hermione," Harry responded. "When the Minister demanded that you be kissed by the dementors, we used her time-turner to go back in time to save an executed hippogriff and then you both escaped to London on its back."

"Sounds like a keeper," Sirius winked. Harry turned red.

"There's also Neville Longbottom."

"Frank and Alice's son?" Sirius asked and Harry nodded. "You know he's your godbrother? Lily had Alice to be your godmother. How is she?"

"Brain-dead." Harry replied sadly. "That's how Bellatrix wound up in Azkaban. She used the _Cruciatus_ on her and Neville's dad. They've been in St. Mungo's ever since. I- I didn't go back far enough in time to save them."

"It's alright, Harry." Sirius said. "We'll make sure their suffering wasn't in vain."

Harry nodded. "And then Draco Malfoy. I know his dad is a death eater, and he was too in the other timeline but now he's a double agent for us. It was hard for Hermione and Neville to accept him at first, but he's got considerable influence over his father who has the Minister in his pocket. He's a valuable asset."

Sirius looked skeptical but didn't reply. Harry took a deep breath and chose his next words carefully. "Also, you need to know that the person who sent me back in the first place is Severus Snape."

A shadow immediately passed over Sirius's face. "That greasy haired bastard-"

"Is the only one brave enough to tell me that I had to die for the horcrux in me to be killed." Harry defended him. "Even Dumbledore, the 'leader of the light' didn't show me that much respect. He also kind of taught me occlumency and he was a double agent as well."

"Yes but who; the Order or You-Know-Who?" Sirius challenged.

Harry scratched his head and sighed. "Sirius, call the man by his name. Either Riddle or Voldemort. He's a half-blood with daddy issues that spouts pure-blood propaganda and has people afraid to say his name even after a tiny baby put him down like the dog he is. Plus, it always pissed him off when I didn't address him as Voldemort. As for Snape, he was an asshole, no doubt about it. But he also recognized that his made the biggest mistake of his life. He was selfish in that aspect when he asked for Voldemort to spare my mom because he loved her, but he was also young and stupid enough to want to be in Voldemort's circle anyway. He'll gladly admit to you that he made horrible choices and is paying for them everyday. It's also a huge slice of humble pie for him considering he was murdered by Voldemort in the end anyway."

Sirius looked thoroughly put out that Harry seemed to be sticking to his guns on this one but nodded tersely and said no more about.

"What's the plan so far?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Well, the Sorcerer's stone is hidden beneath Hogwarts as a trap for Voldemort." Harry pointed to the parchment. The words transformed to form a detailed drawing of all of the obstacles 'protecting' the stone. "In a few days, Quirrell- possessed by Voldemort- is going to bring a troll into the school as a distraction while he tries to get the stone. Our plan was to retrieve the stone ourselves before that happens."

"How long will it take to get past the obstacles?"

Harry snorted. "The first time around three first years with hardly any magical training were able to get it with reasonable effort. This time it'll be no more than child's play. You can assist us by getting a safe place for us to keep it. Maybe acquiring a magical container or something of that sort?"

"Very easily done." Sirius said. He took out a pocket watch and glanced at it, frowning a bit. "Looks like we're running out of time. You should probably get back to the castle, although that's the last place I want you."

"Trust me, doing all of this all over again was not something I anticipated." Harry shrugged. "I'm really happy you took this all so well. It was difficult for all of us. Hermione and Neville remembered dying...Draco remembered all of the horrible things he did to receive the dark mark..."

Sirius placed a hand comfortingly on Harry's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Worry no more. You're right, it is a bit disconcerting but I'll do everything in my power to help. I suppose I should refrain from such an early death this time around?"

Harry appreciated his attempt at humor. "There's one more thing; there's a horcrux inside of Grimmauld Place."

…...

Grimmauld Place was just as he'd left it; cold, unwelcome, and brimming to the edge with dark magic. For a long moment, Sirius stood in front of the house watching it.

It had been so long.

Finally he grit his teeth and walked up the steps. His hand hovered over the snake doorknob initially, but he was surprised when it accepted his touch and allowed him entry. His father must not have gotten around to properly banishing him from the family.

He flicked his wand and the entrance way flickered to life. He stepped around the disgusting old troll umbrella stand and stunned his mother's portrait before she could make a peep. He was glad Harry had warned him about that.

To say he was surprised by his godson's revelations was probably the understatement of the century. He was shocked, appalled, angered, and although he would never admit, ashamed. He still felt unbelievably guilty that he had decided to go after the rat instead of tending to his freshly orphaned godson all those years ago. He was embarrassed because even after he had managed to break out of prison, he was forced into hiding because they had apparently let the rat escape and the fact that two thirteen year olds had to rescue him from dementors only added salt to the wounds.

Sure, he was proud of Harry for suffering so much and making it as far as he did. Sometimes life dealt horrible cards and Harry's hand was certainly not one to envy. However, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that something horrible was going to happen. He wasn't sure Harry understood just how dangerous time-travel was. They were probably breaking a plethora of laws just by existing. Although if Sirius had to be honest with himself, he could give two piles of dragon shit about the Ministry at the moment. They had given him a very, very generous compensation, access to all of his vaults and reinstated his title as Lord Black but they had yet to give him back the eleven years he had lost in that hellhole. Some things money couldn't buy.

However, that was just one aspect of several facets. There was also Dumbledore's role in all of this. Apparently he had set the boy up to be killed intentionally. How could he do that to James and Lily? They were two of his most avid supporters. And Snape being thrust into all of this just completely rubbed him the wrong way. He had all but loathed the Slytherin while they were in school and those feelings had done nothing but fester in his time locked away. Harry had explained how the greaseball had overheard the prophecy that signed Lily and James' death certificates and he was feeling very bitter about that. He also hated that his godson seemed to have unwaivering trust in the man. The castle definitely wasn't safe for Harry.

But against his better judgement, he was going to allow Harry to take the lead on this one. He had barely known the lad a week and had no desire to come off as overbearing, lest he lose a chance to reconnect with his best friends' only son. He would do everything he could to keep him alive this time.

The locket was exactly where Harry had said it would be. Sirius was amazing that literally nothing about his childhood home had changed. The glass display case was locked and coated in dust but Sirius could sense the dark magic radiating from the various objects. He pulled a pair of dragon hide gloves out of his pockets and slipped them on. He also pulled a miniature trunk out of his pocket and placed it on the floor besides him. He performed a complicated set of movements and the trunk expanded into full sized. It had seven keyholes on it and Sirius used his wand as a key and turned it in the third keyhole. It made an unlocking sound and the lid popped open. He used his wand again to vanish the dust and unlock the display case. There sitting proudly was a huge golden locket with an inlaid S. He felt shudders along his spine.

"_Wingardium leviosa_," he muttered. The necklace hovered and Sirius directed it inside of the trunk. When he heard it hit the bottom with a soft clunk, he closed the lid and magically locked it. He shrunk it again and placed it back in his pocket before removing his gloves. There was only one thing left to do.

"Kreacher," he called.

A moment later there was a loud pop and the old elf appeared across the room from him. Sirius didn't hide the disgust on his face. The elf was shriveled as ever and had an expression of loathing on his face as he regarded Sirius.

"They have released Master Sirius from Azkaban," Kreacher croaked. "Kreacher thinks they should have let the little blood traiter rot in there with the dementors, but Kreacher never gets what he wants, not since his Mistress has died."

"And good riddance to the old bat," Sirius growled. Kreacher glowered at him. "You are a poor excuse of an elf, Kreacher. I have half of the mind to give you clothes and be done with you, rotten elf."

Kreacher shrunk back as if he had been struck but the fierce expression of hatred contradicted his pose. "Master Sirius threatens Kreacher with clothes...if only Mistress were here...Mistress would put the ungrateful murderer in his place."

"I'm not a murderer...yet." Sirius threatened and the elf didn't miss his implication. "However, I promised my godson that I wouldn't harm you but there's no question, you can't live here. Kreacher, I'm ordering you away from this house. My late mother owned a plot of land in Cairo. You will go there and take care of the home that's there. You are not to communicate with anyone unless I grant you permission to do so. You are not to leave the home unless I call for you and you are not to answer anyone's call but my own." he could see the elf struggling to find some loophole out of the situation but not finding any. "If you even think about breaking any of the rules I set, you are to punish yourself and you will die. Do you understand me?"

Kreacher nodded reproachfully.

"Good," Sirius said pleased. "And remove that awful portrait of my mother from the wall. It's got a sticking charm on it but I know for a fact that you know how to get it down. bring it in here when you're done and then go to Cairo."

The elf didn't even complain as he set off on his task. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief when moments later his mother's portrait was laying at his feet and Kreacher popped away. Harry had warned him about setting the elf free and instead suggested that he send him somewhere else and order him not to leave. Sirius would have probably enjoyed killing him but he decided to save his rage for a more deserving person.

He pointed his wand at the frozen face of his mother. "_Incendio_."

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

"That's it?"

The little red stone sat innocently on the counter as the four students stared at it.

"All the traps were the same," Harry told them. "Hermione was wicked with her spell work."

"It was nothing really..." she blushed and looked away.

"So that's the key to immortality?" Draco said, not sounding impressed at all. "A little stone barely the size of my hand."

"A whole lot of hoopla about nothing really," Neville added. "You guys were barely gone half an hour."

"We need to get this to Sirius as soon as possible," Harry told them, checking off an item off the the magical parchment. "Snape is meeting him at Grimmauld Place this weekend to start brewing the Elixir."

"Will it be done in time to save the Flamels?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Harry nodded. "In the original timeline they passed away shortly after I went after the stone and that wasn't until the end of second term. They should be fine."

"Great." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and flipped the parchment over where a list of names that had been struck through were. She tapped her wand against the paper and the line that went through the Flamel's name erased itself.

That was the ultimate goal after all; defeat Voldemort and save as many people as they could.

They had failed once already. It was no longer an option.

**I appreciate all reviews. The first chapter was a bit of a stretch concerning length. Unless it's a special circumstance, the remaining chapters will be closer to this length. Thanks. **


	3. Reasons

I like that this story has such a strong following. Thanks.

**Chapter iii.**

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

To say Albus Dumbledore was panicked was to say that the Chudley Cannons needed a bit of work to change their current record; understatement of the year.

He had his suspicions about Quirrell which is why he had Severus keeping a close eye out for him in the first place. Hagrid was a piss-poor liar so his 'hidden' dragon egg was promptly shipped off to a dragon reserve and after a few details, Dumbledore was able to determine that Quirrell had given the egg to the gamekeeper. The headmaster had also noticed that Quirrell was showing Harry Potter an unusual amount of interest during mealtimes, even though the boy didn't seem to notice. Dumbledore knew that the Dark Lord would make his return soon and he had no doubts that Quirrell was somehow working for the man or receiving orders from him in some kind of way. He knew the students and staff were relatively safe within the walls of the castle and as far as he knew, Voldemort had no body do any real damage. And with Severus reporting Quirrell's every move, Dumbledore was sure he had the situation under control.

But everything changed when the Sorcerer's Stone went missing.

He had gone down to the hidden chamber only to discover that the blood red stone was no where in sight. He had performed a series of quick spells and it revealed only the faintest magical signature; so faint he couldn't detect whose it belonged to. He immediately dismissed theft by student- they wouldn't dare break his rules about the forbidden corridor, let alone possess enough skill to get past the security measures.

He also dismissed Voldemort. He was certain the Sorcerer's Stone was his endgame, but it was too soon and the timing made zero sense.

While the issue of the Stone continuously ran through his mind, one thing that really confused him was the boy-who-lived himself.

Harry Potter was an unusual boy right from the beginning. He hadn't gravitated towards Molly when she set herself up on the platform, he hadn't befriended the youngest Weasley despite them sharing living quarters, he also was visibly friendly with the Malfoy boy. Dumbledore had always tried his best not to be biased towards his students, but Lucious Malfoy's reputation preceded his son and quite frankly, Dumbledore, and half of the staff, were surprised that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin could be as civil as the two boys were to each other. It was almost unheard of in the ancient castle.

A few times he had tried performing Legilimency on Harry but each time he was met with the barest surface thoughts; what homework was due, how pretty Hermione was, remembering the Gryffindor tower password... There was nothing malicious or out of place for an eleven year-old.

He almost felt bad for the boy. If the Stone was indeed gone and Voldemort discovered this information, he could have a much bigger head start in planning his return. Harry would need to be prepared to play his role in ridding the world of the Dark Lord once more. He didn't reveal his plans to anyone as he knew they would disagree with him. While it was true poor Harry had suffered enough with losing his parents, Harry was also the only person who could destroy Voldemort for good. Somethings had to be done for the Greater Good and the Leader of the Light would not let anyone or thing get in the way of that. That's why he didn't inform the teachers that the Stone was missing. He knew they would panic and jump to conclusions and start trying to coddle the boy. He couldn't have that.

He _almost_ felt bad.

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

"Hey Harry! How do you feel about a game of Wizard's Chess?"

"I'm kind of busy with homework right now, Ron." Harry replied absently and his eyes never left the parchment he was scribbling on. "Sorry."

Ron mumbled something under his breath and sulked off towards the other side of the Gryffindor house table. They were at the very end of the table, furthest from the other students where they could safely talk without being overheard. They were having a supervised study session with the four heads of house patrolling and answering any questions students had about homework or assignments. Hermione stood thoughtfully after him. "I've been thinking,"

"Oh no." Neville muttered and Harry and Draco grinned.

"We know in the other timeline that Ronald betrays us-"

"Like a modern Judas Iscariot." Draco said darkly.

"Who's that?" Neville asked confused.

"He betrayed Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver." Hermione replied. Harry gave her a curious look.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "Jesus Christ as in-"

"Comparing yourself to a Higher Power, Potter?" a smooth voice caused Harry and Hermione to turn around. Snape stood behind them "Somehow I'm not surprised."

Harry had the decency to blush. That was the furthest thing from his mind. It was everyone else's turn to laugh at him. Snape even cracked a grin before regaining his composure. It wouldn't do for the other students to see him having a 'good time' with students. What would that do for his reputation?

"We still haven't been informed of the missing object." Snape lowered his voice impossibly low as he reached for Hermione's notebook and began looking over her work. "I can't risk looking into Quirrell's mind as long as he has a house guest with him, but I'm assuming he will go forth with his previous plan as a means of a distraction."

"Try not to injure yourself this time, Professor." Draco added. "That was a nasty bite Fluffy gave you."

Snape pursed his lips but didn't reply to the comment. "While I don't recommend the four of you skipping the Halloween feast tonight as it would be extremely noticeable, I would suggest not hiding in the girl's loo all alone and _not going after her to play the hero_."

Hermione turned bright red while Harry just nodded seriously. He had no desire to stuff his perfectly good wand up a troll's nose. That would benefit no one.

"What is the headmaster doing about the missing item?" Neville asked quietly as he handed Snape his own notebook after Snape returned Hermione's.

"He doesn't think the Dark Lord will act prematurely, but on one ever really knows what he's thinking." Snape replied smoothly. "Excellent work on your surface thoughts, Harry. The headmaster has shared with me that he's been attempting to breach your mind with Legilimency."

"Well I did have a Master Legilimens teaching me," Harry said seriously. Snape's mouth twitched in a grin and he closed Neville's notebook and handed it back to him.

"That despicable old man," Hermione groused. "He can't just go around reading people's minds. Exactly what did he expect to find?"

Snape chose his next words very carefully. "He wants to see if he needs to move up his timetable, as far as Harry is concerned."

They were all quiet for a moment and Snape took the opportunity to look over Draco's work. "What an idiot." The blond boy responded after a while.

"Indeed." Snape replied. He handed Draco back his book and looked over Harry's shoulder. "Number four is incorrect. I'll see you at the feast tomorrow."

"So what were you saying about the Weasel?" Harry asked Hermione after a moment.

"Well," she began again. "We know he betrayed us in that timeline. Maybe if we do more to point him in the right direction so that that doesn't happen again-"

"Absolutely not." Harry said, shaking his head furiously. "I'm not a moral compass, Hermione. I know we were all best friends a lifetime ago and you two might have something special eventually, but I have enough people trying to kill me. I don't need a snake in the grass as well."

Draco and Neville knew at once that Harry's remarks were not well received. Hermione's face was a mask of anger as she lashed into Harry. "I know perfectly well that you're not a 'moral compass', Harry. But just like we're preventing so many people from dying this time around, and saving people like his sister from being possessed, I thought that maybe you would have some form of decency to at least try and prevent him from going over to You-Know-Who's side as that is a fate surely worse than death. I didn't think you could be so cruel." she hissed at at him. "And for the record, there was NOTHING between us!" she then snatched up her belongings and marched out of the Great Hall.

Harry regretted his words at once and wanted to chase after her but at that moment, the bell sounded and the students began gathering their things and preparing to head to their classes. He sat glued to his chair. "I did not see that coming." he mumbled.

Draco and Neville gave him sympathetic looks but knew this was something he had to fix. As Neville was putting his things away, he opened his notebook to the page Snape was grading.

Snape didn't have to make a single correction.

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

The feast was going exactly as they remembered it, minus Hermione being cornered by the troll in the girl's bathroom.

Instead, she sat across the table from Neville and Harry and made polite conversation they all knew she was still upset with Harry. Neville wisely refrained from offering his opinion.

Very shortly after the students had dug into their meals, Imposter Quirrell ran into the Great Hall screaming about the troll and promptly fainting before the entire student body and staff. Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes; no wonder students took him for a joke.

After the predictable uproar and ensuing bedlam from the students, and instructions from the headmaster, they were all being shepherded out of the Great Hall. Harry thought this was as stupid now as it was the first time around. If there was a giant troll lose in the school, why wouldn't they just keep the students in the Great Hall under protective spells while the 'skilled' teachers went to handle it? Some things he just didn't understand.

Having enough of the tension between them, Harry grabbed Hermione's elbow and quickly pulled her out of the crowd of students and behind one of the secret tapestries that no one knew about.

"What are you doing?" Hermione whispered furiously.

"Hermione I'm really, really sorry about what I said earlier." Harry figured to jump right in. That's what Gryffindors did after all, right? Hermione crossed her arms and regarded him carefully. Harry guessed he wasn't finished yet. Of course Hermione would want a step-by-step of exactly why he was sorry.

"I shouldn't have said that about you and Ron." Harry felt himself blushing but he wasn't stupid. He remembered sixth year; the way Hermione pined after Ron was unbearable to watch sometimes but she probably looked no worse than him chasing after Ginny. "I let my own feelings about him get in the way and it was completely unacceptable and I hate when you're mad-"

"Oh just forget it," Hermione cut him off. She uncrossed her arms. "I know you all probably thought I was going on about it because in the other timeline I had feelings for him, but that's not the case now. You're forgetting that he betrayed me too, Harry. But as mad I am about that, _it hasn't happened yet._ _We_," she gestured between the two of them. "can prevent that. Maybe subtly guiding him to hang out with better people or somehow convincing the twins to keep a better eye out for him. Maybe stopping Voldemort before Ron has to make the choice to join him or die."

Harry looked down. "I didn't think about that."

Hermione smirked. "I know."

"I'm really sorry, Hermione." Harry said again. For some reason, he couldn't get the image of Hermione crying into his arms after watching Ron go off and do who knows what with Lavender Brown. "I really am."

"I'm sorry too." she said quietly.

…...

"How long do you think it took for them to get the troll out?" Draco asked. He had snuck out of the dungeons to meet Harry, Hermione and Neville in the Room of Requirement. A troll loose in the school was no reason to slack off on their planning or homework.

"No idea." Harry replied as he continued penning a letter to Sirius.

"Do you think you could convince your dad to pull you from school for a few days?" Neville asked Draco. "Maybe you can tell him you don't feel safe."

"It will definitely move up the time table a bit," Hermione said as she looked over the magical parchment that she kept with her faithfully.

"It's better than waiting until Christmas." Harry replied.

"I suppose."

"I'll owl him tomorrow."

…...

Lucious Malfoy caused a fuss to rival Molly Weasley's when he discovered that a troll had gotten loose in the same school that his precious spawn resided in. He immediately appealed to the governors and told them that his son would be staying at home with his mother for the remainder of the weekend. There would be nothing endangering his son there.

Of course no one was brave enough to tell Lucious that he was being a bit extreme so Draco was gone the next day before lunch.

Harry, Hermione and Neville waited anxiously all day on Sunday in Snape's office. They had sent another owl to Sirius explaining that they had moved up the timetable a bit and that Phase Three was being implemented as they speak. His response was speedy and he was just as eager.

Snape was a bit more weary, but ultimately, he could see no harm in waiting.

"Hermione would you please stop rearranging the things in my office?" Snape asked through grit teeth. Hermione was in a fit of anxiety and had taken to moving the things around the potion master's office in a very OCD like manner. It was driving them all a bit mad but seeing as it was Snape's office, he would tell her to stop when he was good and ready.

Hermione immediately put the jar of unicorn hair down and nervously glanced at the door.

Snape studied the Marauder's Map on his desk and after a moment, he got up and opened the door to reveal a very pale- and that's saying something- Draco on the other side. He quickly pulled him inside and locked the door.

"Take...take it from me please," Draco sounded as if he was out of breath. He pulled a wrapped package from his pocket and all but shoved it at his godfather. Snape quickly pulled out his wand and used it to hold the package up and away from everyone. Neville and Harry guided Draco to the couch where it looked like he would be sick.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"That thing is...disgusting." Draco said quietly. "I...I wrote in it. Just to see what it would be like...to see what she went through."

No one responded, even though they were all thinking about how horribly wrong Draco's little 'experiment' could have ended.

"He wrote back." Draco continued. "He promised me things; things that would have convinced me in the other timeline." he stared at the floating diary with loathing eyes. "Can we please destroy it now?"

"Patience grasshopper." Snape said dryly. "We're already a bit ahead of ourselves."

"I can't believe my father follows such a sick bastard." Draco spat.

"We all make mistakes." Snape said quietly. They wondered if he had even spoken at all.

"You should rest," Hermione gave Draco's arm a comforting squeeze and he nodded in agreement. She turned to Harry and Neville who couldn't take their eyes off of the horcrux. "We should all get to bed."

"Sirius is already in Hogsmeade with the trunk," Harry told Snape.

"Wonderful."

Hermione lead Draco from the room and Neville followed with Harry trailing behind them. "And then there were three."

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

There was tension, that much was certain.

Regardless of how much they both wanted to support Harry and his endeavors, it was no secret that Sirius Black and Severus Snape had a history – in this timeline and the previous one- in which they were largely at each other's throats. The thought of working together, genuinely working towards a common goal, was a very foreign concept. They both wanted to be the bigger man and prove that there were no hard feelings but that was the funny thing about having a history with someone; it was always remembered differently.

So Snape hurried to the rendezvous point at the Shrieking Shack. It wouldn't do for him to be late.

Sirius waited in the same room they had cornered Pettigrew in in the previous timeline. The room was much more cleaner and didn't reek of wet dog so Snape counted that as a plus. Sirius had conjured a very comfortable looking armchair but he was standing in front of the large window with his back to the door. Severus cleared his throat to make his presence known, but he was sure Sirius' dog-like senses knew he was there already.

"Ah, right on time." Sirius turned and gave Severus a tight smile. "I take it you had no trouble?"

Severus grit his teeth and replied. "None whatsoever."

Sirius nodded and produced a tiny trunk from his pocket and used his wand to restore it to it's original size. He opened a compartment- different than the one containing the locket- and waited for Severus.

The potion master pulled the old diary from his pocket and unwrapped it. It looked so harmless. After a moment he handed it to Sirius who took it gingerly and turned it over in his hands as if inspecting it.

Severus noticed that he hesitated a moment before putting it in the trunk. "Problem?"

Sirius took his eyes off the book and glanced up at Severus. "These...horcruxes. I don't remember this previous timeline. Sometimes I even question the validity of it but then I think about how crazy unrealistic this all is and it just makes it all the more believable. I trust Harry, but I also know Harry has a major flaw in wanting to save people, even if it's from themselves. How bad was it really?"

Severus didn't let his face betray any emotion. "We lost the war the moment Harry portkeyed back to Hogwarts with Cedric Diggory's dead body."

Sirius nodded. "He told me about that; how Voldemort made his return that night."

Severus said nothing.

"So you're really on our side, Snivellus?" Sirius said without malice. "Lily would be proud."

"Despite what people speculate or think they know about me, I really loved Lily. I'm not foolish enough to believe that we could have had a future together, but I loved her as if she were my own. But I'm not doing this for Lily. I'm doing this for the woman that may one day love me the way Lily never could."

Sirius pondered the man's words for a moment before nodding in understanding. He tossed the diary inside the trunk and magically sealed and shrunk it, returning it to his pocket. He then crossed the room and extended a hand to Severus.

Without hesitating, Severus took it.

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

**Thoughts? **


	4. Slaying Dragons

I realize that there has a been a serious flaw in reasoning so far...

I will fix it.

**Chapter iv.**

_The locket...the snake...he diadem...the cup...the ring...the diary...me..._

"Harry?"

"He's doing it again..."

"It's a horrible habit, honestly."

"Harry!"

Harry snapped out of his daze and stared across the table at Neville and Draco. To his left Hermione looked slightly annoyed with him. "I'm serious, Harry. You need to stop worrying so much."

Harry resisted the urge to sigh heavily and instead got to his face and began pacing around the Room of Requirement. They had had this talk so many times before... "I know, Hermione. It's just...nothing ever goes the way it's bloody planned does it? I mean, what if we really are screwing things up?"

Hermione actually rolled her eyes. "Here we go again..." Draco mumbled under his breath.

"It's like this," Harry continued. "We're going around collecting all of the horcruxes, but what if keeping them together for so long actually makes things worse? Like, what if all the bits of Voldemort manage to create a super-horcrux and we can't destroy it? Maybe that's why he hid them in all different places!"

"Harry, I'm saying this because you're my friend," Hermione said slowly and patiently, as if she were talking to a small child. "But you are being completely stupid right now."

"I agree with Hermione!" Neville said excitedly. "A super-horcrux? You can't actually believe that?" 

Harry slumped down on the couch. He looked and felt utterly defeated. "I want to be optimistic guys, I really do. I just have this awful feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong..."

"Harry," Draco spoke up. "We are intentionally meddling with time and changing an entire generation's futures..._on purpose_. We would all be complete idiots if we didn't constantly believe that something could go wrong at any second."

"There's just so many loose ends!" Harry argued weakly. "Like the Weasley's, Quirrell, Dumbledore, the Ministry. The list literally never ends."

"It's not supposed to," Hermione replied sharply. "If there's no dark fighting against us then how can we represent the side of the light? The Order, Dumbledore's Army, The Quibbler; all of those things from the previous timeline would have had no purpose if there were no death eater or no Voldemort or no Ministry to fight against."

"Ok, ok, forget I said that," Harry quickly backtracked, shaking his head. "What about the fact that we don't have a way to even destroy the horcruxes? _Feindfyre_ is out of the question and I'm not overly eager to go and find that bloody basilisk."

"Did you ask Sirius? Or Snape?" Neville asked.

Harry shook his head again. "No they're only keeping them safe for us. They're really following our lead on this one."

"I wonder..." Draco said softly to himself. They looked to him expectantly but rather than addressing him, he called out, "Dobby?"

A moment later, there was a loud pop and the tiny elf stood before them. He bowed immediately to Draco. "The youngest Master Malfoy has called for Dobby. How can Dobby serve you, young Master Malfoy?"

Everyone but Draco was confused. Dobby peeked up and upon noticing Harry Potter, he let out a great squeal. "And Harry Potter is here with young Master Malfoy! Dobby has heard of the noble Harry Potter, how brave, how wonderful..."

Neville cleared his throat and looked away. "Well this is uncomfortable." Harry turned pink around the ears.

"Dobby," Draco said getting the elf's attention again. "I promise you can talk to Harry as much as you'd like but first, I have a task for you."

"Anything sir!" Dobby squealed.

"In the headmaster's office is the Sorting Hat." Draco informed him. "I need it." 

Before any of them could say a word, he popped away. Several seconds later he was back with the ancient hat in his tiny hands. He bowed as he presented it to Draco, who took it with just as much reverence and placed it carefully on the table.

Hermione had just recovered her voice. "Why on Earth do you have the Sorting Hat?"

"Dante is a very smart individual." Draco answered casually. "He can probably help us fill in some of the blank spots." 

"Did you just call the Sorting Hat Dante?" Neville asked.

"A title is very different from a name," Draco responded wisely.

"No kidding." Harry said incredulously.

"You stole the Sorting Hat!" Hermione squeaked in terror.

"Not stealing, Miss," Dobby responded. "We is only borrowing it."

"_I'm sitting right here, you know." _Everyone but Draco let out a yelp of surprise as the seam in the Hat ripped and words spilled from his mouth. "Oh don't act so surprised. You hear me talk every year."

"You're not mad that Draco kidnapped- er..hatnapped you from the headmaster's office?" Neville asked uncertainly.

The Hat- Dante- gave a loud laugh. "How funny you are, Mr. Longbottom. Come, Draco, have a seat; we've much to discuss."

Without sparing the others a glance, Draco made himself comfortable in one of the chairs at the table and placed Dante on his head. He ignored his friends as he listened intently to whatever the Hat was sharing with him.

"This is so bizarre," Neville said under his breath.

"This is so...unexpected?" Hermione tried in vain to supply the right word. "I know that the Hat allowed Harry to choose Gryffindor in the previous timeline, but to actually share this kind of relationship with a student? There was nothing like this ever in _Hogwarts, A History._"

Harry felt a tug on the hem of his robes and looked down to see Dobby staring up at him with his large eyes. Harry was overjoyed to see the elf alive and well. He was also very sure that Draco would be taking much better care of him this time around. "Hi Dobby."

If elves could blush then Dobby was definitely turning a nice shade of rose. "Dobby is so honored to meet the great Harry Potter."

"It's really nice to meet you too, Dobby." Harry said sincerely. He knelt down so he was at eye level with Dobby. Despite getting him nearly expelled and almost killing him during his (first) second year, Harry enjoyed the little guy. He deserved better than dying on the end of Bellatrix Lestrange's dagger.

Dobby pointed behind Harry and Harry turned to see Draco removing Dante from his head. The Hat was silent and still as ever.

"Well?" Hermione asked nervously.

Draco turned to Harry. "Can you still speak Parseltongue?"

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

Percy Weasley was always considered the 'black sheep' of the Weasley family.

He wasn't content like his father nor pushy and slightly abrasive like his mother. He wasn't adventurous or woo the women like Charlie and he definitely wasn't rough around the edges in a lovable way like Bill. He didn't have the humor or charm of the twins and he didn't have Ron's boyish demeanor. He wasn't as shy as Ginny, but was nowhere near as opinionated as his mother.

Percy was ambitious. He strived to always stay two or three steps up the ladder; he had goals and a clear idea of how to get exactly what he wanted.

He was made of different stock than his family and he prided himself on that fact. As far as he was concerned, different was good.

Of course the others didn't see it that way. The twins called him 'Percy the Prat' and made fun of him for taking his duty as prefect so seriously. Ginny never spent much time with him and Charlie and Bill always got these glazed looks over their faces whenever he started talking about the things he was interested in. He took it all with a grain of salt though...one day they would learn.

But for now, he concentrated on making sure his youngest brother was making a healthy transition into Hogwarts. He knew Ron could be socially awkward at times and his mealtime etiquette could use some work, but besides that, he thought he had some major potential he had yet to tap into. He felt that it was his personal job as a big brother to ensure that Ron didn't fall into the same habit of slacking as the twins. Their mother had been overwhelmed when Percy wrote home and told her that Ron would be living with Harry Potter; she had it in her mind that the two would be the best of friends.

However, their mother wasn't around them enough to see that Ron definitely wouldn't be attracting the attention of the Boy Who Lived anytime soon. He had watched Harry, he knew that the boy was friendly with almost everyone but his immediate circle was extremely small. He hung around a muggleborn already known for her high intelligence, and the Longbottom and Malfoy heirs, both of whom would be just as influential when they came of age as Harry would be.

When he put his younger brother next to Harry's friends, it was easy to see why he wasn't in the boy's immediate friend group. There was simply no comparison.

However, he knew that it would make his mother more than ecstatic to be able to say that her boy was friends with Harry Potter. Percy could already imagine her gifting him with one of her famous hand knit sweaters at Christmas and having him over to the Burrow for holidays. Percy could also see how advantageous it would be for the Weasleys to be considered friends of the Potter family. He wasn't stupid- he knew that life was all about who you knew, and although he was but eleven years old, Harry Potter was definitely someone to know.

Fortunately, Percy wasn't stupid enough to not realize that a fifth year prefect hanging out with a first year would garner more than a weird look or two. So he would have to play his cards right. Ron didn't fit in with the Boy Who Lived now, but after a lesson or two from Percy, he was certain they would on the road to fast friends in no time.

At least he hoped so.

**RaDiOaCtIvE**

"This is such a bad idea." Hermione griped as she prepared to jump down the hole that led to the Chamber of Secrets. Neville and even Dobby murmured in agreement.

"For the last time," Harry called up to her. "This wasn't even my idea!" He had transfigured the tiny animal skeletons at the bottom of the chute into several pillows so Hermione's land wasn't very hard. He helped her to her feet and she glared at him.

"This is dangerous." she stated and moved out of the way of an incoming Neville and Dobby, who clutched the Sorting Hat in his tiny hands. Draco had asked the little elf if he could apparate them into the chamber but the elf sadly responded that certain magic prevented him from doing so.

So they had to take the long way.

Harry hadn't thought about if his gift/curse of talking to snakes would be taken away once the part of Voldemort had been ripped from him, but lo and behold, when he nervously commanded the little snake on the bathroom sink to allow him entrance into the chamber, the others had reported that they hadn't understood a word he had spoken- er, hissed.

Apparently, it was Dante's suggesting to Draco that they go into the chamber of secrets, use Harry's Parseltongue ability to communicate with the basilisk in an attempt to gain the only other way to destroy the horcruxes- basilisk venom.

Of course they were all against it- for different reasons, of course. Hermione thought it was way too risky and dangerous. Harry still held a slight grudge at the snake because it almost killed him. Neville had heard nothing but horror stories about the thing and didn't enjoy the possibility of being petrified. Draco wanted to trust Dante's judgment but he too was a bit doubtful of the whole thing. They were already meddling with time, he didn't want to tempt or test fate any more than they already were.

Of course, none of those initial aversions mattered because in the end, they all had the unspoken agreement that they would do whatever it took to get rid of Voldemort.

Into the chamber they went.

Draco stood in front of the large circular door and ran a hand lightly over the snakes that served as locks. "It's extremely detailed, and the magic that went into shielding this place is really intense."

"Rightfully so," Harry agreed. "Salazar was probably afraid of some horrible student hurting his precious pet." Neville let out a nervous laughter and Draco smirked.

They gathered around while Harry spoke to the door. "#_Open up#_," he hissed in Parseltongue.

They all pulled their wands out while the door creaked open. Harry gripped his tightly and glanced to his left where Hermione's eyes were fixed ahead of her. He could see her shaking slightly and for some reason this made his nerves turn to steel. He took a deep breath.

The chamber was exactly as he remembered it; the huge marble bust of Salazar Slytherin loomed in front of them and he entire place seemed to be lit by some unseen source. The pool of water glistened innocently ahead of them and the statues of snake's heads seemed to follow their every movement as they made their way to the place where Harry faced off with teenage Tom Riddle. There was no sign of the basilisk anywhere.

"Now what?" Neville asked. He held his wand a little higher as he looked around.

"Careful," Draco warned. "If the snake is lurking, you don't want to accidentally catch its eye."

Harry shook his head. "The snake has it's own chamber inside the bust of Slytherin. When Riddle called it, it came from there." Four pairs of eyes snapped to the imposing stone face of Slytherin.

"How curious," Hermione turned to Draco. "You're the first Slytherin to actually step foot in Salazar's secret chamber in over fifty years."

"What an honor." Draco replied dryly. He reached for Dante and frowned when the Hat remained silent. "I guess it's up to us now."

"Here goes nothing," Harry cleared his throat pointed his wand at his throat. "_Sonorus_," He wasn't sure how teenage-Riddle was able to hiss loud enough for the snake to hear him, but he was sure his eleven year old, pre-pubescent voice wouldn't carry far. "_#Great basilisk, protector of this chamber and heir to Salazar Slytherin, I come to seek an audience with you#" _Harry turned to his friends. "How was that?"

Before they could answer, there was a loud rumbling and the mouth of the statue opened wide- wide enough for a giant snake to make it's appearance.

"Watch your eyes..." Draco cautioned again. They all turned their eyes downcast. The basilisk didn't appear though, but the hiss echoed all around them.

"_#Who dissssturbssss my sssslumber?#"_

"_#We mean no harm to you...but I do need your help.#"_

"_#I only aid the true heir of my masssster Ssssalazar Ssssslytherin...all elsssssse will be punisssssshed for tresssspassssing on my masssster'ssss placccceee.#"_

"_#Please, we can't finish our task without your venom...it's the only thing that can destroy the horcruxes." _

"_#I know nothing of thisssss...you've awoken me...now I feasssssst.#"_

"Oh boy." Harry turned towards Dobby. "Are you sure you can't apparate us out of here?"

"What's wrong?" Hermione demanded. "What just happened?"

"Well for one he's pissed that we woke him up." Harry explained. He could hear a scratching sound getting louder and louder. "Also, he's really hungry and we're about to become dinner."

Barely a moment later, the basilisk burst from the opening in the mouth and hissed angrily. Harry could pick out a few choice words, 'rip,' 'kill', 'maim' and 'dinner' to name a few.

Someone- probably Neville- screamed and they all scattered. Draco picked up Dobby by the collar of his tunic and scrambled to get out of the way. Hermione, Neville and Harry threw spells blindly in the direction of the snake but the beast was so powerful that they did nothing but agitate him. Harry wished Fawkes was there to blind the snake again. He doubt the bird would be going to his aid this time around.

"Get to the tunnels!" Harry shouted to the others. They all abandoned their attempts at cursing the snake and followed Harry to the tunnels behind the statues of the smaller snakes.

"What in the hell just happened?" Neville asked out of breath. "How are we supposed to fight a beast that we can't look at and that has skin tougher than our magic?"

Harry felt completely helpless. "Last time Fawkes was here and blinded the snake; that's the only reason I won."

"We need that venom," Draco said exasperated. "I can't believe Dante would lead us into this trap. He's been around just as long as the founder's and knew all about Slytherin's pet. He wouldn't just send us down here to get slaughtered."

"_#Rip...tear...dinner...mussssst killllll...#"_

"Here comes trouble." Harry warned.

"We can't fight this thing head on," Hermione said. "We need a proper strategy and we have to think fast. Now that the snake's awake, we'll be lucky if it only petrifies students this time around."

Draco grabbed the Hat from Dobby and slammed it onto his head. _DANTE!_

_This is less about the venom and more about what you're willing to do to rid the world of the one who calls himself Voldemort. _If it were possible for a hat to be smug, Dante was definitely nailing it.

Draco swore and ripped the hat from his head. It landed with a clunk on the floor and he looked down to see something silver peeking out from inside the hat...

"I'll be back guys." He grabbed Dante's gift and ran out of the tunnel before anyone could say a thing. "Hey you big snake! Come see what my father has to say about beasts like you!"

"Was that-"

"Did he just-"

"!"

"Young master Malfoy has just pulled the sword of Gryffindor from the Hat!" Dobby squeaked.

Harry, Hermione and Neville spared each other a quick glance before they raced out of the tunnel to see Draco- small, pale and eleven year old Draco- wielding the Sword of Gryffindor as he fought the sacred pet of the founder of his house.

It was intense.

It seemed like Draco was bound to lose at any moment but he was fast. The basilisk had his sight and still couldn't manage to get his powerful jaws around the tiny human. They knew it was over when Draco managed to get behind the snake. He dug the sword deep into the snake's skin and used it to pulled himself up on the basilisk's head. He then drove the sword as far as it would go into the head of the beast.

It thrashed around but Draco kept a tight hold on the hilt of the sword and eventually, the snake fell for good. Draco pulled the sword out and stabbed it once more but there was no question- he had slain the basilisk.

He clambered down and for a moment they all looked at each other with equal looks of shock and awe. Finally, it was Neville who spoke first. "You just pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat. Only a true Gryffindor is supposed to do that!"

Harry shook his head. "Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask."

"That's bloody brilliant!" Hermione replied incredulously. "Was that Dante's plan all along?"

"If it was I'm going to be so pissed," Harry said. "We could have just sent Draco down here."

Draco shrugged and sat on the ground. He rested his elbows on his knees as he studied the sword. The adrenaline was leaving his body and the sword seemed to begetting heavier by the second. "Dante?" but the Hat remained inanimate.

Hermione walked over to the carcass of the snake and now that it was dead and it's eyes were shut, she was able to examine it more closely. "You can tell how old this thing is; you can literally feel the magic pouring off of it." She pulled a bag from her pocket and pointed her wand at one of the fangs sticking out of the snake's closed mouth and directed a severing charm at it. The fang fell to the floor and she used a levitating charm to guide the venomous tooth into the bag. "Well, we've got our weapon."

"What will we do with the body?" Neville asked curiously. He too had wandered over to inspect the carcass with Hermione.

Harry, however, knelt down next to Draco and studied him closely. "Are you alright?"

Draco shook his head. "No." He held up the sword. "I shouldn't be able to hold this sword, Harry. It's unnatural."

"It's unnatural that I was able to communicate with a centuries old basilisk," Harry tired to joke but Draco wasn't in the mood for it. Rightfully so.

"At the Sorting Ceremony- this time around- I asked Dante if I should be in a different house. You know the reputation Slytherin gets...I think I had already made up my mind to be on your side this time around and I wasn't sure how being placed in the house of evil would benefit me. I'm not really book smart like the Ravenclaws and if we're being honest, I would probably hate being Hufflepuff- they're just too damn nice. So...i thought about Gryffindor. I know you Gryffs are usually thick headed and don't think things through all the time, but you're got this fire and this bravery that other people lack. It's kind of admirable. But Dante thought I could change the popular opinion about how people viewed Slytherins but I don't know if I'm up for that challenge."

Harry stared at Draco intently. "You've already proven yourself. You pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat. Not anyone can just pull that off. I think you're over thinking this."

"Pot meet Kettle," Draco replied wryly and then grinned at Harry. Harry returned the grin and got to his feet. He offered a hand to Draco and he accepted.

"We should definitely tell Professor Snape about this." Hermione stated. "There's probably more potion ingredients here than he can imagine. Since Draco killed it, it's his call."

Draco looked surprised. "Well Harry killed it the first time so maybe we can split the profits 50/50?"

Harry pondered it for a moment. "Yes but the first time around it was Hermione who clued us in to it to begin with."

"And Neville tried to help us kill it this time around," Hermione added.

"I really didn't do anything-" Neville started blushing furiously. Hermione shushed him.

"And Dobby got Dante for us who gave us this great idea to begin with." Harry added. The elf was besides himself.

"Ok we all had a big part in this, agreed?" Draco said. "Let's discuss the logistics in a snake-free zone please? This place reeks."

They all agreed and since the entrance wasn't blocked by mounds of rocks, they were able to climb back up the chute and into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom with no issue. It was dinnertime so they ran into no one as they made their way to the seventh floor. Dobby had apparated away to return Dante and then returned home to Malfoy Manner where he was sure to be missed. Draco instructed him to tell his parents that he had required the elf's assistance and to not punish him for having dinner in the table late. He hoped they wouldn't punish him but he didn't have enough time to write a note.

When they arrived at the tapestry of the trolls learning ballet, Neville was prepared to ask for their secret room to appear but Harry stopped him. "Hermione, can I have that fang?"

While Hermione dug around for the fang, Harry paced in front of the door..._I need the place where things are hidden...I need the place where things are hidden...I need the place where things are hidden..._

"Harry."

Harry opened his eyes to see the all too familiar door in front of him. Hermione passed him the fang and he gripped it tightly in his hand. "Who wants to destroy a horcrux?" Before waiting for an answer he pushed the door open and was astonished to see that the large, cathedral-like room had not changed a bit. It was just as cluttered as it was a lifetime ago.

Of course this time, Harry knew exactly where to go.

"Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem is here." Harry explained as he led them through the rows and rows of forgotten junk. "When Riddle was a teenager, he tricked her daughter Helena into telling him where the diadem was hidden. Then he turned it into a horcrux and when he returned to Hogwarts as an adult to ask Professor Dumbledore for a job, he hid it here."

"Why would he hide it here?" Draco asked distastefully. When they passed the broken vanishing cabinet, he averted his eyes.

"Hogwarts was the one place he ever considered home." Harry answered. "That's one of the reasons he really wanted to work here. Sure he wanted to spread his pureblood propaganda to young kids, but I think he also knew that he would never really thrive anywhere else."

"You know a disturbing amount about his life." Neville commented.

"You learn a thing or two when part of his soul is latched onto your brain," Harry replied casually.

"You don't say."

They walked in silence for a few more moments before Harry recognized where they were. "It should be just ahead..."

But when they reached the table the bust of the warlock was there...the same little trinkets that were there the first time were there...

But something was missing. Something essential to their quest.

"What is it?"

"It's...it's gone." Harry choked out. "The diadem isn't here."

The Sword of Gryffindor faded out of Draco's hand.

**RadiOaCtIvE**


End file.
